Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

The future of plastic

Researchers examine whether biodegradable polymers can solve plastic's environmental crisis, noting that while plastic is enormously useful, society's heavy reliance on it has created a global pollution problem that biodegradable alternatives alone are unlikely to fully resolve.

2018 Nature Communications 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Technologies for Converting Mixed Plastic Waste into Biodegradable Polymers

Scientists are developing new ways to turn mixed plastic waste (like food containers and shopping bags) into biodegradable materials that naturally break down instead of polluting the environment. This research review summarizes promising techniques that could help reduce the microplastics that end up in our food and water. If these methods can be made affordable and used widely, they could significantly cut plastic pollution and the health risks it poses to humans.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable Polymers: The Future of Sustainable Plastic Alternatives

This review examines biodegradable polymers as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, evaluating their potential to reduce microplastic pollution and ecological degradation. The authors assess the performance, environmental fate, and scalability of current biodegradable materials, identifying key challenges for widespread adoption across packaging and consumer product applications.

2025 Scriptora International Journal of Research and Innovation (SIJRI)
Article Tier 2

Advancements in the biopolymer films for food packaging applications: a short review

This review covers advances in biodegradable biopolymer films being developed to replace conventional plastic food packaging, which breaks down into microplastics that contaminate soil and water. While these plant-based alternatives show promise for reducing microplastic pollution, they still need improvements in strength and durability before they can compete with conventional plastics at commercial scale.

2024 Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the characteristics of carboxymethyl cellulose film as a possible material for green packaging

Researchers developed biodegradable carboxymethyl cellulose films from agricultural waste as a potential sustainable alternative to conventional plastic food packaging. Replacing single-use plastics with biodegradable packaging is directly relevant to reducing the source of microplastic pollution, as conventional packaging is a major contributor to plastic fragmentation in the environment.

2023 GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Polymers and Microplastics: Implications on Our Environment and Sustainability

This review discusses the environmental implications of polymers and microplastics, covering their properties, production trends, degradation pathways, and ecological impacts. It highlights the tension between the industrial utility of plastics and their growing threat to environmental and human health.

2020 IntechOpen eBooks 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Materials for Packaging

This review evaluates bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives for plastic packaging, examining the environmental performance, mechanical properties, and commercial viability of biopolymers in addressing the global plastic pollution crisis.

2022 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Development and Characterization of Reinforced Flexible Packaging Based on Amazonian Cassava Starch Through Flat Sheet Extrusion

Scientists created eco-friendly food packaging from cassava starch (a plant-based material) mixed with natural ingredients like beeswax and plantain leaf fibers. This new packaging is much stronger and better at keeping moisture out than regular plant-based plastics, making it a promising replacement for petroleum-based plastic bags. This matters because it could help reduce plastic pollution while still protecting our food effectively.

2026 Polymers
Article Tier 2

Degradation and Recycling of Polymer Materials

This review synthesizes research on the degradation and recycling of polymer materials, covering microplastic formation, recycling strategies, and plastic degradation mechanisms as responses to the significant environmental damage caused by discarded plastics in ocean and other ecosystems.

2025
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Plastics with High Performance and Convenient Processibility

Researchers developed a new approach to creating sustainable plastics by combining bio-derived polymers with petroleum-based monomers through in situ polymerization. The resulting materials showed strong mechanical properties, good processability, and improved environmental degradability compared to conventional plastics. The study offers a potential pathway toward reducing microplastic pollution by designing plastics that break down more readily after disposal.

2024 Advanced Science 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Technologies for Converting Mixed Plastic Waste into Biodegradable Polymers

Scientists are developing new ways to turn mixed plastic waste (like food containers and shopping bags all jumbled together) into materials that naturally break down in the environment, instead of lasting forever like regular plastic. This research review shows these emerging technologies could help solve our plastic pollution problem by preventing more microplastics from forming and contaminating our food and water. If these methods can be scaled up, they could transform how we handle plastic waste and reduce health risks from tiny plastic particles that are increasingly found in our bodies.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

A Comprehensive Review of Biodegradable Polymer-Based Films and Coatings and Their Food Packaging Applications

This review covers the development of biodegradable polymer-based films and coatings as alternatives to conventional plastic food packaging. While these bio-based materials reduce long-term environmental pollution, the review notes that they can still break down into microplastic particles under certain conditions. The shift to biodegradable packaging may reduce but not eliminate the food packaging contribution to microplastic pollution and human exposure.

2022 Materials 221 citations
Article Tier 2

Economia Circular E Desenvolvimento Sustentável: Compostabilidade, Biodegradação E Inovação Em Biopolímeros E Compósitos Renováveis Para Aplicações Estruturais, Agrícolas E Embalagens

This review paper summarizes research on new plant-based plastics that can break down naturally in the environment, unlike regular plastics made from oil. These eco-friendly materials could replace traditional plastic in food packaging and farming, potentially reducing the tiny plastic particles that end up in our food and water. However, the technology still needs improvements and better waste management systems before these biodegradable plastics can widely replace regular plastics.

2026 Aracê.
Article Tier 2

Development of Technology for Obtaining a Biodegradable Polymer

Researchers developed biodegradable polymers made from starch combined with organic acids and plasticizers as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics. The resulting bioplastics passed physicochemical tests and are described as ready for mass production.

2023 NNC RK Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Utilization of Household Plastic Waste in Technologies with Final Biodegradation

Researchers developed a multi-stage processing method for polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene household plastic waste, incorporating the materials into film-forming compositions used to encapsulate granular mineral fertilizers. The study confirmed that polymer shell residues safely biodegraded in soil after fertilizer dissolution, demonstrating a viable pathway for converting plastic waste into agricultural inputs.

2022 Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of sustainable packaging in reducing environmental pollution

This review examines how sustainable packaging — using biodegradable materials, reducing excess packaging, and improving recyclability — can reduce environmental pollution. The paper evaluates different sustainable packaging strategies and their effectiveness at reducing plastic waste, which is the primary source of microplastic pollution.

2023 International Journal of Geography Geology and Environment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Design of new biopolymers for biomedicine and food-packaging

Researchers review new biopolymer designs intended for biomedical and food packaging applications, aiming to replace fossil-fuel-based plastics with biodegradable alternatives from renewable sources. Widespread adoption of such materials could significantly reduce long-term microplastic pollution.

2019 AMS Dottorato Institutional Doctoral Theses Repository (University of Bologna) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in food packaging: Analytical methods, health risks, and sustainable alternatives

This review examines how microplastics from food packaging materials can migrate into the food we eat during storage and handling. It evaluates analytical methods for detecting this contamination and suggests biodegradable polymers as promising eco-friendly alternatives, while noting that standardized testing methods and risk assessment frameworks are still needed.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Problems of environmental pollution with microplastic waste and ways to solve them

This review examines the widespread presence of microplastics in the environment and their impacts on ecosystems and human health. Researchers highlight the limitations of conventional plastic food packaging and propose sustainable alternatives including bioplastics, edible packaging, and traditional materials like palm leaves. The study provides practical guidelines for transitioning away from conventional plastics to reduce microplastic contamination.

2024 BIO Web of Conferences 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the environment: The role of polymer science

This paper highlights why understanding polymer science is essential for addressing the microplastics problem. Researchers argue that microplastics behave differently from other microparticles because of their unique polymer-specific interactions with the environment and living organisms. The study calls for interdisciplinary collaboration between polymer scientists and environmental researchers to develop better identification methods, risk assessments, and remediation strategies.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 2 citations