Celebrating nine food waste alternative materials… (that don't cost ‘the earth’ but aren’t quite hitting the scalability factor just yet)

In recognition of the innovative connection between food waste and regeneration - we’ve found nine alternative materials that use food waste as a base fibre. Yet, scalability and cost are the continued struggles of the FMCG and CPG sectors. So, we’ve tried to find options that have the potential to support mainstream materials in the future. ?Here’s our list:

1.??????? Mushroom

Made from agricultural waste, such as corn stalks and husks, mixed with mycelium (the root structure of mushrooms), creating a strong and biodegradable material. Mushroom waste has faltered slightly as an alternative leather, but there is promising scope for this material to form eco-friendly packaging. ?

Ikea, for example, took mycelium packaging as a high-strength alternative to less sustainable materials when packaging its self-assembly furniture. Mushroom-based packaging has been proven to have the same moldability, durability, and hydrophobic qualities as Styrofoam. Packaging grown from Mycelium can compost and biodegrade, reducing landfill waste and the reliance on recycling infrastructure. Its initial foray into the market made us aware of the future scale/cost challenges that must be overcome. You always have to give Ikea credit for embracing different options to protect their product range and reduce packaging components.

2.??????? Orange Peel

Discarded orange peels have a strong base fibre composition and are in plentiful supply. A British student at Brunel University London spotted this potential to create a biopolymer material suitable for packaging applications, but we’ve not seen anything mainstream yet.

In 2019, a project from CRA Carlo Ratti, an associate for Eni, also created an experimental circular juice bar that uses squeezed oranges and turns them into 3D-printed disposable cups from which the juice is served and drunk and then easily recycled. The genuinely circular purpose helped design out all waste and pollution.

It is possible for brands with orange waste in their supply chain to test and scale it as a material fibre, as these small projects prove. With some robust and sustainable system thinking, orange peel has real potential.

3.??????? Potato Starch

Produced from potato waste, mainly starch extracted from potato peels or other by-products of potato processing. It’s cheap and in plentiful supply. ?

Australian-based Great Wrap has created a sustainable alternative to Clingfilm using potato starch for the hospitality and home sectors. It can be printed on and is as durable as the virgin plastic alternative. A popular consumer product for food items, it is also great packaging for magazines, brochures and pallet wrap. The product is home-compostable and tests prove it can break down in under 180 days. The commercial uptake is slow, with a price point barrier, but seeing a business thrive based on a sustainable purpose is positive.

4.??????? Coffee Grounds

Incorporates spent coffee grounds into materials, offering a sustainable alternative while repurposing waste from coffee production.

In 2021, Vietnamese manufacturer AirXcoffee developed a material using locally sourced coffee grounds to replace single-use plastic. The grounds are dried and blended with cellulose, starch, waxes, wood, natural resins and oils to form the material.

It has been used to make tableware, polystyrene cups, flowerpots and other products to replace single-use plastic but has yet to scale to global commercial use.

As the example above highlights, coffee grounds are a fascinating base fibre, perfectly primed to create next-generation fibre-based materials. Yet, it has to hit the mark for several factors – collection, scalability, and cost. Nothing is impossible…

5.??????? Banana Fibre

Made from banana plant stems or fibres extracted from banana pseudo stems, providing a biodegradable and renewable fibre-based material.

Papyrus has completed a series of trials using its factory-produced refined banana fibre to generate commercial quantities of biodegradable moulded food packaging products. The trials proved that banana fibre is a viable alternative to plastic and wood pulp in moulded food packaging products. A by-product of banana and plantain farming, leaves, stalks and trunks are an abundant waste product globally, with an estimated worldwide production of 2.5 billion tonnes annually. Banana fibre is, of course, biodegradable, meaning that it will decompose quickly and naturally in landfills.

6.??????? Wheat Straw

Utilises agricultural wheat straw from the stalks or straw left behind after the grain is harvested. Innovative farmers are holding this waste back to create various fibre-based materials.

UKPack offers cosmetic jars made of wheat straw with surface finishes like hot stamping, screen printing, label stickers, and colour matching, allowing brands to personalise their products. The supply is plentiful, and it can be composted quicker than paper.

7.??????? Tomato Pomace

Uses tomato plant fibres and pomace to create biodegradable materials and edible coatings to reduce food loss in the supply chain.

Still in its early stages, research by La Mayora Subtropical and Mediterranean Hortofruticulture Institute in Spain is creating a robust film or transparent wrap with multiple applications. The material can also be used to coat the interior of a can. Developing naturally derived products that can decompose in one month has the potential to be a game changer for the packaging industry. ??

8.??????? Grape Pomace

There is a large amount of bulk material left, so utilising the skins, seeds, and stems left over from winemaking, known as grape pomace, is a sustainable way to create next-generation materials rich in natural fibres. The whole pomace is used to make compostable packaging. Although it is still in the very early stages of development, there are promising things to come from this production waste, especially in the wine and champagne industry.

9.??????? Sugarcane Bagasse

Made from the fibrous residue left after sugarcane is crushed to extract juice, offering a renewable and compostable packaging solution.

Bagitan Packaging offers sugarcane packaging for different products, especially food products. Sugarcane Bagasse can tolerate temperatures as high as 200°F due to its high internal temperature maintenance property and a sustainable alternative for ready-made meals. It’s highly porous, too, allowing foods to last longer. The material can be reintroduced back to the ecosystem at the consumer end as it is biodegradable, compostable, and naturally converts into nutrient-rich fertiliser materials.

Sugarcane is a problematic resource due to the high energy intensity required to process it. Still, there are additional possibilities to work with waste elements to create items that not only degrade but add value back into the ground.

A base fibre worth converting…

We can unlock the hidden value in your food waste fibre with Medoola 12.3. Discover the actual cost of waste and seize the potential to optimise it like never before. Embrace the possibility of newfound opportunities.