Scientists exploring banana plant as alternative to plastic packaging

In the future, banana plants may offer a good alternative to polyethylene. Scientists have prepared a packaging material from banana plants that is environmentally friendly. Also it can be recycled.

According to researchers from Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW), the banana growing industry produces a large amount of organic waste, using only 12 per cent of the plant while leaving the rest after harvesting.

Banana plants can be used

Jayshree Arcot, Associate Professor of UNSW said, ‘A large part of the banana crop is dumped in comparison of other crops after harvesting. While it can be used in many ways. She said that after harvesting the banana and its leaves from the plant, the plant is cut or thrown away or left to rot in the field. But instead of throwing it away, a new industry can be shaped.

Arcot said that though some people use the waste part as textiles and manure. But this work is done at a very small level. UNSW professors Martina Stenzel and Arcot worked together to increase the use of the banana-discarded portion and packaging the material using the cellulose of the banana plant.

Will be used in these places

The researchers said that cellulose can be used in packaging, paper products, textiles and even medical applications such as wound healing and drug delivery.

Researchers extracted cellulose to test its suitability as a packaging option, using pseudostem (bark) from banana plants grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.

Packaging material will be ready after undergoing chemical processes

Arcot said, ‘Pseudostem contains 90 percent water. To prepare the packaging material, we first dried the pseudostem in the laboratory through an oven and then mixed it in very fine powder. After undergoing several chemical processes, it prepared the packaging material.’ She said that with its help many types of materials including strong shopping bags can be made.