USABLE PACKAGING

The USABLE PACKAGING Project established a new value chain for bioplastics. It was based on low-cost and widely available resources, such as by-products or waste from the food industry. Substrates converted into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), can be transformed into packaging depending on the specific

need. The realization of such packaging would allow to replace fossil-based materials with biodegradable high performing ones.

Beyond the aim to develop commercial alternatives to fossil-based packaging materials, the scope of the project consists of:

– Developing sustainable bio-based packaging suitable for organic recycling;

– Developing packaging materials which can be biodegraded in different environments, including the marine environment;

– Granting a completely sustainable disposal and thus allowing a completely circular approach starting from the material supply chain;

Conceiving a new and innovative design for packaging and production.

Innoven team achieved important results by increasing the volatile fatty acids concentration (VFA, precursors of polyhydroxyalkanoates) in the fermented product. A higher concentration and a greater variability of VFAs allow to obtain final polymers with different characteristics and new chemical-physical properties suitable for different end products.