Advancing bio-based materials for sustainable solutions to food packaging

The unprecedented accumulation of plastic waste forms a serious threat to the biosphere, and current recycling efforts are not living up to their promise. Replacements for synthetic plastics are therefore critically needed, which has led to a rapid growth in research surrounding the development of sustainable materials, such as bioproducts. Still, commercialization has been limited, as knowledge gaps separating publicly funded research from industrial implementation need to be overcome. The food-packaging sector is currently undergoing drastic transformations in phasing out plastics and can therefore provide a blueprint for catalysing the adoption of bioproducts that could be applicable to other sectors. The hazardous life cycle of synthetic materials is driving sustainable materials with biogenic building blocks to play a larger role. This Perspective identifies the main challenges and suggests the way forward by focusing on food packaging.