Food containers are important for the food and beverages industry.

Today, many consumers are aware of the selection of environmentally friendly food containers in line with the government's policy to reduce the use of plastic in the market.

In line with efforts toward a greener and safer future, a team of researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture UPM led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siti Salwa Abd Gani said, UPM is taking the initiative by producing innovations in environmentally friendly food containers that offer various advantages such as easy to dispose, cheap and effective.

Food container packaging that incorporates the concept of coconut husk-based biodegradation contributes toward environmental sustainability and is used as an alternative to replace the use of plastic and polystyrene.

In line with the resolution of the Malaysian Cabinet in 2018, the development of Malaysia's Plan Towards Zero Single-Use Plastic has made the initiative taken by UPM researchers one step ahead that supports this ambition by sharing expertise in producing coconut husk-based food containers.

Through the guidelines issued by the ASEAN Regional Action Plan 2021-2025, 188 ASEAN member countries take major account of the control of the movement of plastic waste including taking proactive measures by listing the types of harmful plastic waste use and focusing on the need for sustainable plastic waste disposal management.

Food containers using plastic has contributed to the global issue due to the lifespan taken to dispose can reach up to 10 to 50 years, plus its large consumption has resulted in the issue of global warming and greenhouse.

The continued use of plastic also threatens the ecosystem by discarding plastics waste, causing the extinction of aquatic animals because they consider plastic stranded in the oceans to be the food of marine life.

Through the innovation of coconut husk-based, food containers are no longer a factor that contributes to pollution thus increasing the country's efforts to conserve the ecosystem of life.

The coconut industry marks the fourth largest and most important industry in our country, making it a good raw material to produce green innovation due to its cheap price and accessibility.

Besides being easily available and cheap, the technology also offers high durability to accommodate food weight up to 1 kilogram.

According to Dr. Siti Salwa, this innovation offers various benefits in line with the government's urge to reduce crop waste.

 

Inventor

Assoc Prof Dr. Siti Salwa Abd Gani
Faculty of Agriculture 

ssalwaag@upm.edu.my 

Date of Input: 23/02/2022 | Updated: 17/05/2022 | asrizam