Nowadays, environmental protection is being advocated by many countries, and take-out vendors are gradually replacing ordinary disposable food containers with degradable tableware to reduce take-out pollution. So, what is degradable food packaging? What are the main components of degradable eco-friendly disposable utensils? Degradable tableware refers to utensils that can ultimately degrade into carbon dioxide and water. There are two types of materials used in degradable tableware: one is made from natural materials; the other is made primarily of plastic with added starch and sensitizer. Next, we will introduce the relevant content of degradable tableware in detail for you, which will be explained by Easy Green.
Biodegradable flatware refers to food containers that can undergo biochemical reactions in the presence of microorganisms (bacteria, mold, algae) and enzymes in natural environments, causing changes in appearance and internal quality, and ultimately becoming carbon dioxide and water. The entire degradation process does not require human participation and can decompose into harmless substances over a long period of time. The waste produced by degradable tableware should not only meet the degradation performance requirements of disposable degradable tableware, but also have recycling value, be easy to reuse, or be easy to dispose of by sanitary landfill or high-temperature composting.
Biodegradable flatware is made from two types of materials: one is made from natural materials, such as paper products, straw, and starch, and is degradable, also known as environmentally friendly products. The other is made primarily of plastic with added starch, sensitizer and other materials.
Biodegradable food containers made from natural materials
Sometimes referred to as fully biodegradable food containers, biodegradable flatware made from natural materials are a relatively advanced environmentally friendly product. It uses starch as the main raw material, adds annual plant fiber powder and special additives, and processes it through chemical and physical methods to make fully biodegradable fast food containers. Starch is a naturally biodegradable polymer that breaks down into glucose under the action of microorganisms and finally decomposes into water and carbon dioxide. In addition, the materials blended with it are also fully degradable, so it can be said that it has no impact on the environment. The main sources of raw materials for starch production are corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other annual plants. Of course, fully biodegradable food containers are not perfect; issues such as the fact that most raw materials used in production are food crops, and the problem of mold resistance, etc., still need to be solved.
Degradable plastic food containers
This type of disposable food container is made of degradable plastic, which means that a certain amount of additives such as sensitizer and starch are added during the production of plastic. Therefore, after being used and discarded in nature for three months, degradable plastic products can break down into fragments, at least improving the environment visually. However, the biggest flaw in this technology is that these fragmented pieces cannot continue to degrade, and only transform from larger pieces into smaller plastic pieces, which cannot fundamentally eliminate the task of eliminating white pollution.
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