Chile is one of the countries that consumes the most plastics in the world, generating about 21,000 tons per day and each inhabitant is responsible for 1.1 kg of waste per year, according to the Waste Atlas 2018 organization. Worrisome figures that trigger the development of a Bioplastic based on sugar from raw materials - discarded - from the national agribusiness.

The objective of the innovation, promoted by the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation (FIA) and executed by the Universidad Católica del Maule, with the support of the Foundation for Fruit Development (FDF) and San Jorge Packaging, is to create packaging containers for the export fruits to the continents of Europe and Asia. The wastes that are being studied are pulps and peels of apple, pear, grape, peach, tomato, among others.

In detail, Cristián Valdés, biochemist in charge of the project, comments that the first stage of the process is to extract the nutrients (reducing sugars) from the residues of fruits and vegetables for the growth of a bacteria that produces the bioplastic precursor; "Which will be chemically treated in order to generate the material as such, to which antimicrobial properties are added. Then, it will be transformed into biodegradable bags, giving it shape by means of extrusion machines. Finally, the properties of the material will be optimized so that it is compatible with the packaging ”.

Given the situation of the pandemic in the country, Valdés adds, the project is currently developing the first of its three objectives, “related to the generation and optimization of the necessary conditions for the hydrolysis process of the different industrial waste, which we are studying, such as apple, pear, grape, peach, tomato, etc. It is important to mention that hydrolysis is a process that consists of obtaining reducing sugars that are found in the pulp and skin of foods ”.

Regarding sustainability and the contribution to waste management, the executor maintains that “this innovation generates a circular economy since the same waste from fruits wrapped in bioplastic can be used as a substrate to generate more biodegradable bags, which at Unlike conventional plastic, they degrade in short periods of time, while petroleum-based plastic can take hundreds of years ”.

The proposal has 4 big differences compared to a conventional plastic. The generation of the initial substrate from biological waste avoiding its purchase externally; the production of a bioplastic compatible with packaging processes; the use of copper nanoparticles to reduce the growth of microorganisms in the fruit, and finally, an optimizable preparation method compatible with future components that provide other properties to the material.

Along these lines, the executive director of FIA, Álvaro Eyzaguirre, comments that “the Law of Extended Producer Responsibility and Promotion of Recycling is already in force, which is very positive for our sector since Chile is the main fruit exporter in the hemisphere South, highlighting cherries, which travel between 30 to 35 days to reach the Asian market. Transfer where packaging is essential and therefore it is necessary that the companies that generate these plastics begin to evaluate sustainable alternatives thanks to innovations that arise from the productive territory itself. This FIA project, like others, are concrete solutions to problems of today and tomorrow ”.

As the idea is to give a use to the waste that abounds in a region that carries out a specific agricultural production, we want to develop “a technological package, which will be delivered to the country's packaging companies. Mainly because there are already countries that are regulating the use of plastic, which is why it is necessary to provide alternative solutions to possible difficulties in international shipments from our country ", closes Valdés.