Page 51 - Plastics News Issue - January 2025
P. 51
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
The Role of Policy and Public Awareness
In this regard whilst technological solutions are
important raw materials, solutions to plastic
waste crisis must include policy intervention and
enhancing public awareness. It also provides pol-
icies that government can set higher standards
of production on plastics and recycling, ensure
industries change costly fashionable uses. Poli-
cies most likely to spur change include; the re-
wrapping that is edible.
striction on the use of single-use plastics, charg-
1. Edible Packaging es that are levied on plastic bags, and extended
producer responsibility that makes manufactur-
An emerging approach in the current society is ers take back their products for recycling.
the use of edible packing. Also known as food
cellophane, edible packaging materials are made Another important aspect of minimizing plastic
using edible products such as seaweed, rice or waste is therefore the public health and aware-
starch, which also allows the packaging mate- ness. When given information about the sub-
rial to be eaten together with the product it has ject, individuals and societies can actively avoid
enclosed. This technology can be particularly or decrease the amount, they use by practicing
applied to food packaging where shed load of this concept of recycling, avoiding single-use
plastics is used in the food industry. Businesses plastics, and supporting the use of environmen-
have gone as far as creating food packaging that tally friendly products.
is consumable packaging that would dissolve or Conclusion
can actually be food for consumption as such no
more plastic. Plastic waste crisis is huge problem, but tech-
nological solutions are offering a possibility for
2. Plant-Based Plastics
future change. In methods such as chemical and
Plant-based plastics is the other option it can biological recycling, biodegradable plastics, and
be harvested from crops like corn, sugarcane or other more effective materials, we can less the
even algae. These materials are most often more harm of plastic waste. But, the advancement
environmentally friendly than plastics derived made in technologies, to a large extent, will not
from petroleum for both manufacturing and re- be sufficient to accomplish the task.
cycling. Plastic derived from plants is biodegrad-
able and can be recycled through composting, Instead, the interventions are urgent as they will
which make it better for use in disposables. Nev- require fundamental changes in policy reforms
ertheless, some difficulties are still concerning and enhancing awareness among the public.
the increase of the production of plant-based When added together, we can make both pri-
plastics and their usage with recommencement mary work and secondary work to effectively
of food competition. eliminate the problem of plastic waste on our
planet.
Source – Plastics Technology
January 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 51
