The damage we are doing.

Plastic waste causes untold damage to the environment as well as costing governments millions of pounds/euros every year for disposal. Plastic waste such as bags and food cartons often ends up in landfill sites or discarded on the street. Incineration of plastic waste causes toxic gases to pollute the air. One solution to the problem is to use biodegradable packaging that decomposes naturally and has no harmful effects on the environment. Used in conjunction with recycling as a means of disposal, this technology can help reduce the millions of tonnes of plastic waste that accumulate every year.

   How NVYRO products help.

NVYRO addresses these problems head on with its biodegradable cassava starch based food packaging. This innovative product does not harm the environment, as it is completely biodegradable. The containers can hold any type of food, whether hot, cold, solid or liquid, and can also be used in a microwave. The containers are even edible!.

When something is biodegradable, it can be broken down by natural means into elements like carbon, oxygen and hydrogen; the ability of a substance to be broken down into simpler substances by bacteria means that it can be used in household compost or as mulch for agricultural crops.

Packaging is one industry where customers' environmental concerns are now being heard. New research and development into biodegradable materials has led to products such as bags, cutlery, plates and boxes being made of material that degrades naturally. Starch from cassava, potatoes, corn, wheat or soy, for example, can be used to produce food packaging that is environmentally friendly. Starch has several advantages: it is widely available as an agricultural surplus material, it costs very little, and it has properties that allow it to be processed without damaging it. Starch-based packaging can also be given to livestock to eat, or once decomposed, can be used as fertiliser for plants and trees.

Expanded packaging such as fast food trays have proven very practical for people who are busy and on the move. Yet Styrofoam or Polystyrene type packaging produces a very high quantity of waste because it is usually used only once. NVYROs packaging solves this problem. Produced by thermal compression moulding, it can hold water for up to 75 minutes and liquid oil for several hours. The starch mix consists of more than 90 per cent dry weight starch, plasticizers, emulsifier, calcium carbonate and agar. The process takes no more than 3 minutes at a temperature of 200-240° Centigrade (°C) and the product is completely biodegradable.

   The future.

To minimise the adverse environmental impact of their products, some food manufacturers are increasingly trying to reduce the amount of packaging used to protect their food products. NVYRO packaging, together with many other recent developments in food packaging, has combined simple, abundant, renewable materials, such as limestone and starch, into a material that, like leaves and grass, is 100 per cent biodegradable and recyclable through composting. These products are designed to take account of the entire life-cycle of the product (life-cycle assessment or LSA), from conception to disposal.

All over the world, the road to ecologically safe, consumer-friendly packaging is beginning to have a real impact, spurred on by increasingly tougher recycling regulations in countries such as Japan, Europe, Australia and the USA. Supermarkets in Europe are currently showing interest in alternative materials, as a result of European Union moves to reduce landfill as a method for disposal. The International Organisation for Standardization, ISO, has also developed standards to evaluate the biodegradability of products under different environmental and disposal conditions such as composting. Providing globally acceptable standards, together with certification and logo schemes, will help to safeguard the environment.