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A Comprehensive Review on Analyzing the Effectiveness of Different Leaves in Food Packaging: A Sustainable Alternative to Plastics
Summary
Leaves and leaf-derived fibers show potential as sustainable, biodegradable alternatives to plastic in food packaging, with various mechanical, chemical, and nanofiber-reinforced configurations reviewed. Replacing conventional plastic packaging is a primary prevention strategy for reducing the microplastic contamination that enters ecosystems and the food chain through packaging degradation.
This work is aimed at reviewing the effectiveness of different leaves and their potential applications in the field of food packaging. In the realm of technological advancement, every material, whether it is in a developed stage or at an early stage of manipulative configuration, is under scrutiny to its maximum potential to be utilized as a resource for humans in a more profitable, affordable, and eco-friendly manner. Particularly in the case of the packaging requirements that are significantly inclined towards plastics, it is crucial to comprehend a plastic-less environment, as plastics are considered a pet feedstock, which indeed takes several decades to break down. Although in most of the packaging requirements, plastic, a very big resource, plastic waste impacts several environments, including air, the aquatic environment, soil, non-microorganisms, soil microorganisms, insects, and even humans, leading to complete damage. Several parameters related to economic, physical, chemical, and mechanical flow, ductility, and stiffness have been discussed together with advanced applications of nano-fibers and mixed fiber reinforced polymer matrices. This study deliberates the role of leaves and leaf-derived fibers as good reinforcements in polymer composite matrices for advanced packaging requirements. In this context, the packaging requirements that are significantly inclined towards plastics make human life more beautiful and facilitate the transportation of foodstuffs. However, the million tons of facilities producing plastic waste affect the environment in a critical way. Furthermore, the obliteration of this waste plastic is essential as it decomposes very slowly and can also bind chemical pollutants as well as toxins, cause diseases, and ultimately lead to human death. Therefore, a feasible and eco-friendly resource has to be generated that substitutes plastic waste entirely. DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.9788199565425.2026.60-86