Biodegradable Containers Research Articles

The Appeal of Biodegradable Packaging to Floral Consumers

Currently, one of the most widely discussed topics in the green industry, which is promulgated by consumers exhibiting greater degrees of environmental awareness, is the issue of environmental sustainability. This has led to a desire for products that not only solve the needs of consumers, but are also produced and marketed using sustainable production and business practices. Consumers increasingly place a greater emphasis on product packaging and this has carried over to the grower sector in the form of biodegradable pots. Although various forms of these eco-friendly pots have been available for several years, their marketing appeal was limited as a result of their less-than-satisfying appearance. With the recent availability of more attractive biodegradable plant containers, a renewed interest in their suitability in the green industry and their consumer acceptance has emerged. The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of biodegradable pots that consumers deem most desirable and to identify distinct consumer segments, thus allowing producers/businesses to more efficiently use their resources to offer specific product attributes to those who value them the most. We conducted a conjoint analysis through Internet surveys with 535 valid observations from Texas, Michigan, Minnesota, and Indiana. Our results show that on average, consumers like rice hull pots the most followed by straw pots. Our analysis identified seven market segments and corresponding consumer profiles: “Rice Hull Likers,” “Straw Likers,” “Price Conscious,” “Environmentally Conscious,” “Carbon Sensitive,” “Non-discriminating.” Idiosyncratic marketing strategies should be implemented by industry firms to market biodegradable containers to the identified consumer segments.

Problems and prospects of refuse disposal in nigerian urban centres

Refuse disposal is one of the major environmental problems that developing countries are faced with. Health hazard, traffic congestion, unsightliness, unpleasantness and blockage of drainages are some of the problems caused by the lack of efficient waste management practice in Nigeria. The problem of waste management has two parts, that of collection and that of disposal. Communal collection, block collection, door to door collection and kerbside collection methods have been practiced by different societies. A lot of problems are faced in the collection process like climatic problems, public attitude, nature of waste, and transport condition. Disposal methods such as dumping sites, incineration, recycling, shipping and home garbage disposal units have been used in different societies. There are newer advances in disposal methods, such as pyrolysis, biodegradable containers and biodegradation. These have fewer functional problems but more feasibility problems such as initial and maintenance costs. The government as well as the citizenry has roles to play in adopting more suitable solutions to this problem. Keywords: Refuse disposal, waste management, biodegradation, urban centers, Nigeria

Determinação das características morfológica de petúnias comuns (petunia x hybrida) cultivadas em tubetes biodegradáveis

The market for ornamental plants and flowers has been growing a lot in recent years, in the country, due to its importance in interior design. Petunias are seeded first in seedbeds and then replanted in plastic bags. In order to examine the potential use of biodegradable containers, an experiment was conducted at the experimental site of the Department of Natural Resources/Forestry Science, at Agronomics Sciences College of UNESP, Botucatu, Sao Paulo (Brazil), with common petunias (Petunia x hybrida) grown in greenhouses. The irrigation system used in the experiment was the spraying, without added nutrients. Four irrigations of approximately 15 minutes each were carried out every day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, for irrigation. The containers used for the formation of seedlings were lack polyethylene plastic bags and biodegradable plastic tubes. The development of the seedlings was accompanied taking into account the morphological characteristics of shoot height (H), diameter of the neck (D), leaf area (AF) and length of the root system (CSR). Analysis of the substrate, analysis of water quality and loss of weight of the biodegradable plastic tubes were also carried out. The results showed that the petunia seedlings develop better in plastic bags than in biodegradable containers and that the limiting factor was the water deficit of seedlings due to high permeability of the biodegradable containers. For a better development of seedlings in biodegradable containers, it would be necessary to adjust the irrigation regime so that water is better distributed.

Determinação das características morfológica de petúnias comuns (petunia x hybrida) cultivadas em tubetes biodegradáveis

The market for ornamental plants and flowers has been growing a lot in recent years, in the country, due to its importance in interior design. Petunias are seeded first in seedbeds and then replanted in plastic bags. In order to examine the potential use of biodegradable containers, an experiment was conducted at the experimental site of the Department of Natural Resources/Forestry Science, at Agronomics Sciences College of UNESP, Botucatu, Sao Paulo (Brazil), with common petunias (Petunia x hybrida) grown in greenhouses. The irrigation system used in the experiment was the spraying, without added nutrients. Four irrigations of approximately 15 minutes each were carried out every day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, for irrigation. The containers used for the formation of seedlings were lack polyethylene plastic bags and biodegradable plastic tubes. The development of the seedlings was accompanied taking into account the morphological characteristics of shoot height (H), diameter of the neck (D), leaf area (AF) and length of the root system (CSR). Analysis of the substrate, analysis of water quality and loss of weight of the biodegradable plastic tubes were also carried out. The results showed that the petunia seedlings develop better in plastic bags than in biodegradable containers and that the limiting factor was the water deficit of seedlings due to high permeability of the biodegradable containers. For a better development of seedlings in biodegradable containers, it would be necessary to adjust the irrigation regime so that water is better distributed.

Hydrocarbon Plasma for Treatment of Biodegradable Food Containers

A newly developed middle-frequency (2 MHz) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source with internal oscillating current is used to treat biodegradable food packaging surfaces. Initially hydrophilic packaging turns to hydrophobic after being processed by ICP. The investigation of optical emission from hydrocarbon radicals in the Ar/CH4 plasma helps us to understand the property of the hydrophobicity of the surfaces.

Postharvest shelf life extension of blueberries using a biodegradable package

Small berries are commonly packaged and sold to consumers in vented petroleum-based clamshell containers. Biodegradable and compostable packages may be used as an alternative package to reduce waste generation and landfill disposal. In addition, the current clamshell container design does not allow the development of a modified atmosphere that could prolong berry shelf life. Thus, in this study, a non-ventilated biodegradable container was evaluated as a possible alternative to the containers normally used in commercial distribution of small berries. To determine the potential of biodegradable containers for small berries, highbush blueberries were packaged in polylactide (PLA) containers and stored at 10°C for 18 days and at 23°C for 9 days. Commercial vented clamshell containers were used as controls. Physicochemical and microbiological studies were carried out in order to compare the efficacy of both packages. Results showed that the PLA containers prolonged blueberry shelf life at different storage temperatures.

Properties of Plastic, Peat, and Processed Poultry Feather Fiber Growing Containers

When the substrate surface and drainage holes of feather fiber, peat, and plastic containers were sealed with wax, hyperbolic growth curves were good fits to cumulative water loss on a per container and per cm2 basis, with R2 values ranging from 0.88 to 0.96. The effect of container type was significant as the differences in asymptotic maximum water loss (max) values for all container pairs were significant at P < 0.05 for both water loss per container and water loss per cm2. The predicted total water loss for peat containers was ≈2.5 times greater than feather containers, and the predicted water loss per cm2 for the peat container was ≈3 times greater than feather containers. Vinca [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don.] `Cooler Blush' and impatiens (Impatiens walleriana Hook f.) `Dazzler Rose Star' plants grown in feather and peat containers required more water and more frequent irrigations than those grown in plastic containers. However, plants grown in feather containers required less water and fewer irrigations than plants grown in peat containers. The surface area of containers covered by algal or fungal growth was significantly higher on peat containers than on feather containers. No fungal or algal growth was observed on plastic containers. Additionally, primarily algae were observed on peat containers whereas most discoloration observed on feather containers was due to fungal growth. Dry feather containers had a higher longitudinal strength than dry plastic containers but a lower longitudinal strength than dry peat containers. Wet feather containers had higher longitudinal strength than wet peat containers but a similar longitudinal strength as wet plastic containers. Dry feather and plastic containers had similar lateral strengths and both had significantly higher lateral strength than dry peat containers. Wet feather containers had significantly lower lateral strength than wet plastic containers but had higher lateral strength than wet peat containers. Dry and wet plastic containers had higher punch strength than wet or dry peat and feather containers. Dry peat containers had significantly higher punch strength than dry feather containers. However, wet feather containers had significantly higher punch strength than wet peat containers. Decomposition of peat and feather containers was significantly affected by container type and the species grown in the container. When planted with tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) `Better Boy', decomposition was not significantly different between the peat and feather containers. However, when vinca and marigold (Tagetes patula L.) `Janie Bright Yellow' were grown in the containers, decomposition was significantly higher for feather containers than for peat containers. Therefore, containers made from processed feather fiber provided a new type of biodegradable container with significantly improved characteristics as compared to peat containers.

Plant Growth in Plastic, Peat, and Processed Poultry Feather Fiber Growing Containers

A biodegradable container made from processed waste poultry feathers was developed, and plant growth was evaluated in plastic, peat, and feather containers. Under uniform irrigation and fertilization, dry shoot weights of `Janie Bright Yellow' marigold (Tagetes patula L.), `Cooler Blush' vinca [Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don.] and `Orbit Cardinal' geranium (Pelargonium ×hortorum L.H. Bailey) plants grown in feather containers were higher than for those grown in peat containers, but lower than those grown in plastic containers. Container type did not significantly affect dry shoot weights of `Dazzler Rose Star' impatiens (Impatiens walleriana Hook.f.). `Better Boy' tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) dry shoot weights were similar when grown in peat and feather containers. Feather containers were initially hydrophobic, and several irrigation cycles were required before the feather container walls absorbed water. If allowed to dry, feather containers again became hydrophobic and required several irrigations to reabsorb water from the substrate. Peat containers readily absorbed water from the substrate. Substrate in peat containers dried more rapidly than the substrate in feather containers. Plants grown in peat containers often reached the point of incipient wilting between irrigations, whereas plants grown in feather containers did not. This may have been a factor that resulted in higher dry shoot weights of plants grown in feather containers than in peat containers. Tomato plants grown in feather containers had higher tissue N content than those grown in plastic or peat containers. The availability of additional N from the feather container may also have been a factor that resulted in higher dry shoot weights of plants grown in feather containers than in peat ones. Under non-uniform irrigation and fertilization, dry shoot weights of impatiens and vinca grown in feather containers were significantly higher than those of plants grown in plastic or peat containers. When grown under simulated field conditions, geranium dry shoot weights were significantly higher for plants initially grown in feather containers than for those initially grown in peat containers. Container type did not significantly affect dry shoot weights of vinca when grown under simulated field conditions. As roots readily penetrated the walls of both feather and peat containers, dry root weights of vinca and geranium were not significantly affected by container type when grown under simulated field conditions.

Processing and Properties of Low Cost Corn Gluten Meal/Wood Fiber Composite

Corn gluten meal (CGM)/wood fiber composites, plasticized by glycerol, water and ethanol, were extruded into pellets, and then the pellets were compression-molded into sheets for evaluation of water resistance, thermal stability and morphology. Pellets were also injection-molded to prepare plant pots for developing low cost, biodegradable containers used in agriculture. Ethanol played an important role for preparing homogeneous pellets under a condition of low specific mechanical energy. Extrusion, compression and injection-molding showed a similar trend that melt viscosity increased with the increasing wood fiber content and with decreasing water content. The trend led to a decrease in melt fluidity. The acceptable injection molding temperature range is from 125 to 160 °C, depending on the water content and wood fiber content in the pellets. Flexural strength of molded sheets was improved by 10−30% wood fiber but reduced by 40−50% wood fiber, which was a result of a change in the breaking mechanism. Visual observations showed that fracture occurred in matrix for sheets with low fiber content but in the interface for high fiber content composite. The former breaking mechanism can improve composite strength but the latter cannot. Compression-molded sheets and injection-molded pots showed a medium water resistance, suggesting possible commercial potential.

Burger boxes, the last straw?

It is sometimes joked that the packaging around much of today's food has more nutritional value than the contents. There might be some truth in this statement if plans to use wheat as a component of the boxes that hold hamburgers and sandwiches take off. These biodegradable containers, which are being developed by researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Albany (CA, USA), should benefit the environment and provide farmers with a new source of income, and could be on the market within three years. [http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/acs-cwa032301.html] NC

THE REFUSE DISPOSAL PROBLEM: PREVENTION COULD BE THE CURE

Production of solid waste in the United States is beginning to outrun disposal capacity. Solid waste production must be sharply curtailed; eventually there will be no adequate alternative. Means to achieve reduction include: reinstating returnable bottles and creating returnable cans, recycling metals, paper, plastics and cans, banning heavy newspaper advertising and advertising by mail, giving up large paper grocery bags, regulating packaging to reduce waste, developing biodegradable containers for frozen and convenience foods, and returning from “planned obsolescence” to easily available parts and repairs. Financial incentives built into the reduction measures and sophisticated advertising techniques will be needed to gain the cooperation of the public.