People use plastic bags to keep their fruits and vegetables fresh but sadly, the majority of these materials can't be reused. Multi-layered synthetic materials designed to keep moisture in make up a large part of the packaging waste that ends up in our landfills or oceans. Keeping this vital part of their business in mind since people tend to throw away their packaging after using it just once companies have been investigating ways to either: produce packaging that can be easily recycled or reused; or come up with new kinds of materials altogether. ‘Active packaging’ is one area where there's been recent progress and it works like this: special films breathe by being selectively permeable meaning they let some gases out but not others. This helps reduce condensation, and the build-up of unwanted liquid water inside food packages which has been known to promote spoilage. This, in turn, allows fruits and vegetables to stay fresher longer because there still is gas exchange so their natural metabolism can take place. The problem with these improved films is that they are more complex requiring additional materials called “additives”. Unfortunately, these additives hinder recycling. Researchers also point out that gas-permeable plastics may present issues when trying to manage the flow of gases or liquids from packaged foods. Biodegradable wrapping materials present an interesting possibility as long as they can do the job well. Not only does such material have to break down, but also it needs to perform better gas exchange than plastic wrap while preventing any leakage. Researchers studying bio-based wrapping films under cold, damp retail conditions have published initial findings after one year: they’re not yet sure how those materials are going to fare over several years use. Although further work will need to be done before we have the final product, one of the big advantages if when this happens is that bio-degradable packaging may well provide an eco-friendly solution at a price tag similar or even less expensive than current plastic packaging.
Pattedar et al. (Wed,) studied this question.