Madras Agricultural Journal

Bioplastics are biologically derived, biodegradable polymers. Food waste is a challenge for sustainable development as it can increase greenhouse gas emissions and other issues related to the environment. Meanwhile, plastic waste contributes significantly to environmental pollution. Because of increasing environmental concerns due to conventional plastics, the development of “environmentally friendly” materials has attracted extensive interest. Fruit waste is known to increase during fruit processing and manufacturing. The present study aims to explore the potential of fruit waste as a bioplastic material as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plastic. Most of the fruit wastes have the potential to be developed as bioplastics as they contain starch, cellulose, pectin, and other biopolymers. Some of the fruit waste is generated by the fruit processing industries, including banana peel, pineapple peel, durian seed, jackfruit seed, avocado seed, orange peel, jackfruit perianth, pomegranate peel and dragon fruit peel etc. The production of bioplastics from fruit waste offers the potential to indirectly address two issues, namely reducing plastic waste and fruit waste, at the same time, thereby promoting environmental sustainability. In order to overcome the challenges and develop workable methods for producing bio-based plastics, it is in fact necessary to step up innovations and research in this area. This eco-friendly strategy can reduce our dependency on conventional polymers made of fossil fuels and take us to a more sustainable future.