Bioplastic alternative may hold key to ending plastic waste

The Bioplastics Innovation Hub (BIH), a joint venture between Murdoch University and CSIRO, is responding to the plastic waste crisis with the development of a bioplastic alternative that vanishes over time — leaving no trace on land or in water.

The BIH brought together microbiology, molecular genetics, synthetic biology and biochemical engineering experts with advanced manufacturing to develop bioplastics alternatives.

BIH director Professor Daniel Murphy said creating “completely compostable products” for the food industry was a priority, and working with industry partners would lead to a more seamless transition from the lab to the shelves.

“A key product that industry is asking for is a compostable lining for recycled paper or cardboard-based food packaging,” Murphy said. “In market currently, for example, there are some packaging products made from waste materials that are compostable. However, they can only be used for foods with outer layers such as eggs and fruit.

“Foods without a natural protective layer require packaging to have a plastic lining to be ‘food safe’. If this lining was made from bioplastic, it would meet industry requirements, be welcomed by consumers looking for greener alternatives, and leave no lasting legacy in the environment.”

Murphy said some of the Hub’s most promising research uses microorganisms native to WA, which could help to create a robust circular economy.

“Synthetic plastics break down into microplastics — and those microplastics can move through the water, they can move through the food chain, they even move through the atmosphere through clouds,” Murphy said.

“We’re looking at plastics that are biodegradable and environmentally benign as in they’re not having any impact on the environment. And that’s really important because otherwise we’ll continue to have a build-up of plastic in terrestrial environments on land and in the oceans — which is obviously not what we want for future generations.”

And the answer to the green alternative may come from within WA’s unique environment, with WA scientists using microbes found in local environments to make these bioplastics. BIH researcher and PhD candidate Harrison O’Sullivan is among those working with these naturally occurring microbes.

“At the moment, we’re working with some pretty cool bacteria we’ve pulled out of the environment ... Australia-made as you might say,” O’Sullivan said.

“A lot of these microbes are living in a wild state. They don’t often know where their next food is going to come from — so, in circumstances where they have a lot of extra food, what they’ll do is begin storing organic molecules within the cell, and then we recover these molecules to make the bioplastic material.”

In the WA Government’s 10-Year Science and Technology Plan 2025–2035, a research priority and focus area is “recycling for a circular economy”. BIH environmental microbiologist Dr Sakshi Tiwari said the Hub’s goals were just as ambitious for industry, and the community.

“We are hoping to reach a level where bioplastics and biopolymers reach every household. I believe it’s a longer-term plan, but will be our end goal,” she said.

The Murdoch University Bright Lights story, ‘Solving the plastic waste crisis’, can be viewed in the video below.

 

Image credit: Inside the Bioplastics Innovation Hub.