The use of petroleum-derived PLASTICS, especially pentagonal PLASTICS (polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate), provides numerous and significant social benefits. For example, PLASTICS are used to package food, water and beverages and contribute to the health and safety of people all around the world. In addition to food, most personal items, cosmetics and household items are packed in plastic containers. However, the proliferation of plastic contamination is a global concern. "Reuse, Reduce and Recycle" offers a solution,although it is not enough to prevent the improper use of PLASTICS. Bio-based PLASTICS, like traditional fossil-based PLASTICS, can be recycled or incinerated. The popularity of BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS in agriculture and the food packaging industry is increasing. However, they occupy a relatively small portion of plastic use. BIODEGRADABLE polymers help industries achieve sustainable development, thereby strengthening the green economy, reducing greenhouse gases in the environment and valuing waste biomass. BIODEGRADABLE films are made of animal proteins (including myofibrillar proteins of fish, collagen, gelatin, etc. ), plants (rice, wheat, corn, barley, sunflower etc. ), legumes (locust beans, peas, etc. ), and aquatic plants such as macrophytes.

Introduction: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural polyesters and BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS that are stored as intracellular inclusion bodies by a great variety of bacteria. The aim of this study was to extract polyhydroxyalkanoate from native Sino rhizobium meliloti in Iran.Materials and methods: Sino rhizobium meliloti isolates were collected from roots of alfalfa plants and were identified by Gram staining, biochemical experiments and amplification of 1500 bp fragment of 16Sr DNA gene. PHA granules were detected by microscopic examination. PHA production was evaluated in nutrient deficient medium and its amount was determined by conversion of PHA into crotonic acid by sulphuric acid treatment. The effect of various temperatures, agitation rate and carbon source (sucrose, mannitol, and maltose) were evaluated on dry cell weight and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production.Results: The maximum amount of polymer production (43.10%) was seen in basal mineral medium at 29°C, pH~7 and 215 revolutions per minute (rpm). The results of this research showed that the S5 isolate was capable to produce maximum poly3- hydroxybutyrate. The produced polymer was analyzed for its purity by GC- mass (gas chromatography- mass spectroscopy) and confirmed to be PHB compared with the standard polymer.Discussion and conclusion: Native strains of Sino rhizobium can be used in the production of BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS and the results of present study showed that S. meliloti S5 was capable to produce maximum PHB at 29°C, agitation rate of 215 rpm, and pH~7.

The destructive environmental effects caused by the accumulation of plastic and non-degradable materials are one of the most important concerns in the world today. A significant amount of this waste is related to polymers used in food packaging. Therefore, in recent years, experts and practitioners of the food industry have sought to find suitable BIODEGRADABLE alternatives for synthetic polymers. The purpose of this article is to review composite BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS in food and applied studies in this field.

The growing concerns about wasting natural resources and the increasing enviromental issues in the world due to the usage of petro-based materials, have led to the advent of bio-degeradable material usage for food packaging. Starch is one the most important polysaccharides which has been widely used for bio-degeradable-film production. the starch-based films are flexible and strong, but the presence of free hydroxyl groups in starch structure, is the reasonf for these films to be hydrophil and due to reduced mechanical strenght and low elasticity is limiting the usage of starch in packaging industries. The purpose of this study is to find ways to improve the properties of films composed of starch. In general, modification techniques, including plastic softners, co-polymers, nano-composites and mixing with other bio-polymers it is possible to modify the functional properties of starch to obtain better films from it. some of these favorable properties are: reducing moisture absorption, water vapour permiability, heat stability, increasing the hydrophobicity, etc. recently, Non-thermal processes specially cold-plasma have been used for modifying the starch films with good results.

Ordinary PLASTICS have been produced and used for many years for packaging applications in various sectors. With the growth of the food industry, the demand for food packaging has also grown. However, the PLASTICS made from petroleum are non-degradable, which has created severe bio environmental problems for the environment. BIODEGRADABLE polymers are an alternative approach to many industrial applications including food packaging, as well as risk control for non-BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS. According to the type of the raw material, they are classified in one of the following categories: polymers extracted from biomass compounds, polymers synthesized from monomers and polymers produced from microorganisms. The quality of biopolymers depends on their physical, mechanical and thermal properties. The present study is an overview of the properties of different biopolymers and their compounds, comparing the properties of BIODEGRADABLE polymers and biopolymers. The recent research works and innovative methods for the use of these PLASTICS for food packaging and biomass plastic poisoning have also been studied and presented, concluding that BIODEGRADABLE polymers help reduce the environmental impacts of PLASTICS. It is worth mentioning that as the PLASTICS from agricultural waste are used as raw materials for making this kind of packaging, there is a great opportunity to increase added value.

Synthetic PLASTICS are very versatile, convenient and abundant materials that can be used to create a variety of products, but their widespread use causes increasing damage to the planet and leads to the wastage of natural resources. Hence, researchers have made significant efforts to develop more BIODEGRADABLE and environmentally friendly materials. Eco friendly and cost-effective renewable polysaccharides and their composites meet the requirements of green chemistry, and thus have been widely used for BIODEGRADABLE food packaging applications. Renewable polysaccharides include cellulose, nanocellulose, hemicellulose, chitosan, starch, pectin, etc. In this review, the importance, application, performance, properties and characteristics of starch and cellulose and its derivatives for food packaging are discussed. Moreover, traditional and modern techniques for processing BIODEGRADABLE materials based on starch and cellulose such as solution casting, extrusion, reactive extrusion, electrospinning and layer-by-layer self-assembly have been investigated and some additives have been examined to improve the performance and compensate the weak points.