Trends in sustainable biobased packaging materials: a mini review

Petroleum-based polymers have served the packaging industry in numerous ways as films, pouches, rigid containers, foamed containers, and other components for food, medical, and other packaging applications. However, growing concerns about environmental impact, awareness of greenhouse gas emission and their adverse effects, increased oil prices, and disposal and landfill issues are forcing researchers and the industry to develop sustainable packaging. Biobased materials, those derived from biological sources rather than petroleum sources, are ideally suited to meet these new sustainability requirements. Although biobased materials such as paper have been used for packaging extensively, packaging with increased functionality and performance is needed. Therefore, the movement toward sustainable packaging will include both improving current biobased packaging and development of new biobased materials such as biopolymers. The aim of this mini review was to offer a summary of the current state of biobased packaging as well as provide insight into current and future trends of sustainable paper-and bioplastic-based materials for packaging industry. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.