Plastic pollution is a major global issue. Ninety-nice percent of all plastic is petroleum based, sourced from fossil fuels. They release greenhouse gases, and cause other detrimental environmental impacts. Food and beverage packaging is one of the largest users of plastics. Due to our fast-paced lifestyles, it’s unlikely our reliance on packaging for processed and ready-made food in particular, will decrease. It is imperative we find other eco-friendly packaging solutions. Kelp is currently being explored as one such alternative.
What is kelp?
Kelp has long been used as a term to describe just over 100 species of large brown algae seaweeds. It creates forest-like habitats in the ocean, supporting marine ecosystems with food and shelter. These forests are present on over a quarter of the earth’s coastlines. In addition to being biodiversity hotspots, they protect shorelinesand act as carbon stores. They are also a source of nutrition for people, which is rich in fibre, fatty acids, vitamins and protein. As they can grow up to 45cms a day, they are a sustainable resource for human use and consumption.
An alternative to plastic?
In addition to the many vitamins, antioxidants and fibres found in kelp, they are also packed with polysaccharides. This is strong and resilient complex carbohydrates, which have film forming abilities, allowing kelp to be made into a plastic replacement.
Packaging made from kelp is biodegradable and non-toxic. At the end of its life cycle, it won’t pollute our planet or break down into microplastics. But is the picture all rosy?
Kelp packaging can also be made from seaweed bio-waste. As the farmed seaweed industry for human consumption is growing rapidly, these bio-wastes are more readily available. They are generated from the production of food, feed supplements, fertilisers, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, kelp plastic films is edible and can be flavoured.
Food packed in the seaweed packaging has the potential to keep food fresher for longer than their plastic counterparts. This is because condensation forms on the inside of plastic packaging, which leads to mold. In the case of kelp packaging, instead of forming mold the food dries out, keeping it safe and edible, if a bit drier.
By reducing our reliance on petroleum based plastics we can not only reduce waste, but also the release of greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change.
At the moment, the largest challenge in transitioning to kelp packaging is the financial cost, relative to the cost of producing petroleum plastics. This is largely due to its greater dependence on manual processing. It makes kelp bio-plastic difficult to scale-up, but scientists are continuing to work on ways to make this more affordable.
So… is the picture all rosy?
The kelp/seaweed farming industry is still in a developmental stage. There may be a risk that this type of farming may alter local marine ecosystems, including changes in water quality. More research is needed to better understand and evaluate the interactive effects between seaweed farming and the environment.