Production of Cost-Effective Biodegradable Straw

Abstract

Every year 15,342 tons of plastic waste have been produced. Among these plastic wastes, the big junk of the waste is plastic straws which are used for just a few minutes and thrown away. To prevent the plastic pollution, we need to create proper awareness. In order to avoid the pollution by plastic straws, we planned to produce a Biodegradable straw which is chemical free and an eco-friendly product. The plastic straws are harmful to human health. Our Present study focuses to produce a Biodegradable straw using eco-friendly ingredients like banana peel, cinnamon, corn starch, honey, thyme leaves and vinegar. To replace these plastic straws the bioplastic film was naturally prepared from banana peel with some chemical free ingredients. According to the study of bioplastic, banana peel has the ability to produce bioplastic film which is best alternative of plastic use. Also, vinegar can degrade the starch. And study about cinnamon shows that cinnamon can prolong the shelf life of the bioplastic film and it banishes the smell of vinegar. The flexibility of the bioplastic film can be attained by the thyme leaves in addition it also has an antifungal property. Honey acts as a plasticizer to make the material softer and more flexible and also it has antimicrobial activity. An application of heat brings polymerization from these mixtures. Thus, the bio plastic replaces the petroleum-based plastic with something made from food waste or agricultural by-products.