‘Bioplastic’ can be binned with food waste

A NEW ‘bioplastic’ which can be thrown out with food scraps could be on the shelves within five years after scientists found a way to turn ‘tree glue’ into biodegradable packaging.

Researchers at the University of Warwick in England have found that a natural glue called lignin, which holds cellulose fibres together, stiffening plant stems, can be turned into a strong, moldable bioplastic.

Lignin is a byproduct of the paper-making process. While it is useful in plants, it causes paper made of wood pulp to weaken and discolour quickly, and so it is removed.

In its raw form it is useless, but Professor Tim Bugg at Warwick University has developed a way to use genetically modified bacteria to turn the glue into useful chemicals. He found that a bacteria called Rhodococcus jostii, which lives in the soil and feeds on the glue, can be genetically tweaked so that it turns lignin into high yields of biodegradable plastic.