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Development of Sustainable Polymer Materials for Packaging Applications
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**TLDR:** Scientists developed new ways to make plastic packaging more eco-friendly by recycling existing materials, creating biodegradable alternatives, and turning farm waste into packaging materials. This research matters because it could help reduce the massive amounts of plastic pollution (over 400 million tons yearly) that breaks down into harmful microplastics in our environment. These cleaner packaging options could mean less plastic contamination in the food chain and ecosystems that affect human health.
In recent years, global plastic production has achieved record levels, reaching over 400 million tons per year. Indeed, nowadays, one of the most significant global challenges is undoubtedly plastic pollution. Clearly, a significant proportion of these materials, often from packaging, ends up in the environment, contributing to the accumulation of urban waste and the release of microplastics, which have a negative impact on marine and land ecosystems.This thesis aims to explore strategies to make the packaging sector more sustainable, thus integrating innovative approaches that can reduce the environmental impact of current products and promote a circular economy model. The study focuses on three main pathways, such as: recycling current manufactured products, aimed at reducing dispersion in the environment and giving them a second life; the development of new biodegradable systems with the added possibility of recycling for packaging applications; and finally, the use of agricultural waste for the production of sustainable and environmentally friendly biocomposites. These combined approaches represent not only a strategy to address the problem of packaging waste dispersion in the environment, but also to reduce its impact on ecosystems.The study uses established methodologies in the packaging sector, such as single-screw and twin-screw extruders and melt compounding, in order to investigate the relationship between structure process–property relationships of the materials. Analysis of all systems obtained provides insight into how to optimize performance and develop more sustainable materials.Hence, this thesis is not limited to contributing to the transition towards reducing environmental impact, but also aims to propose concrete solutions applicable in the packaging sector. Indeed, the adoption of models for recycling complex products, such as multilayers packaging, and the use of agricultural waste for the development of sustainable biocomposites represent a step towards the creation of a circular economy model, in which waste reduction, innovation and valorization combine to generate both industrial and environmental benefits.
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