S2UPPlant: Smart, sustainable plastic packaging from plants

To ensure growth and development remain sustainable and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, it is essential to discover new materials that can significantly reduce waste from plastic packaging. The Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging from Plants (S2UPPlant) project will research changing the genetics of plants or blending with other materials from food or agricultural waste. The aim is to engineer materials with new functional properties, such as improved strength or better protection, reducing the volume of plastic packaging needed to keep food fresh.

The project will supplant the widespread use of fossil-derived plastics with materials made from naturally derived sources, such as wood (cellulose) and plants (sugars). These materials will degrade more easily in the natural environment, and result in no additional carbon being returned to the biosphere. By changing the genetic code of the plants, or blending with other additives from food or agricultural waste, it aims to engineer materials with new functional properties, such as improved strength or better protection, resulting in a reduction in the overall volume of plastic packing needed to keep food fresh. By assessing the impact of switching to cellulose and plant-derived sugars, and making better use of waste products from food and forestry industries, it will explore the trade-offs between the benefits of plastic packaging and the impacts of its production and disposal.

The success of the project will address several challenges outlined in the UK Plastic Pact 2025 and contribute to positioning the UK as a leading innovator in smart and sustainable plastic packaging.