Completely compostable and biodegradable packaging thanks to the waste water from dairy establishments. This is the idea behind the BIOCOSÌ project, whose goal is to create a biodegradable food packaging that eliminates any waste of food, materials and energy.

It is a project that could change the way of living plastic food packaging forever. Especially considering that today (according to ENEA data of December 2018) about 83% of plastic waste caught in Italian seas are just disposable plastic packaging. The BIOCOSÌ project The name comes from the concept of the project itself.

Innovative technologies and processes for the production of 100% BIOdegradable and compostable packaging for a sustainable, economical / circular and intelligent industry.

The project was developed by ENEA (National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) with the collaboration of a young Apulian startup called EggPlant, in the broader context of ENEA’s activities related to eco-innovation and to industrial ecology. BIOCOSÌ will allow, through innovative techniques, to transform dairy waste into material to produce sustainable and biodegradable packaging in just 18 months.

How a milk packaging is produced It almost sounds like science fiction but it really is.
BIOCOSÌ consists of two phases. In the first phase a very particular membrane process fractionates the whey and allows to recover in a differentiated way all the components (whey proteins, peptides, mineral salts, lactose and ultra pure water). The method was completely developed by ENEA in the Brindisi Research Center.
In this phase the lactose and the active extracts peptides are fermented to then create the bioplastic (PHA Polihydroxyalcanoati). In the second phase, thanks to the collaboration with EggPlant, from these materials a bioplastic derived from lactose is produced to create the entirely sustainable and biodegradable packaging.
The benefits go beyond the production of a biodegradable and compostable food packaging.

Producing packaging directly from the waste in the dairy supply chain also means reducing the pollutants of the dairy industry and also the impact of plastic on the environment. With this project both problems are eliminated. A method of producing revolutionary packaging “This innovation, inspired by the principles of the circular economy with the objective ‘zero waste at the end of the process’ – underlines Valerio Miceli of the ENEA Biotechnology and Agroindustrial Division – responds not only to ethical and environmental needs but also to economic, linked to high costs of disposal of dairy waste, allowing, moreover, to cut the unit cost of biopolymer production by about 23% “. At present, bioplastics make up only 1% of the plastics produced each year in Europe (300,000,000 tons). According to the European Bioplastics (the European bioplastics industry association), the production of this particular type of plastic is expected to grow by + 50%, from 4.2 million tonnes (2016) to 6.1 tonnes in 2021.

In Italy, the trend follows a similar trend: according to Assobioplastiche, the bioplastics production sector recorded an increase of + 25% with a turnover of 475 million euro (+ 10%).

The BIOCOSÌ project revolutionises the concept of recovery of waste materials for the innovative production of other materials. In a dynamic sector and increasingly devoted to the green as that of packaging, this innovation can really change the rules of the game and give us a more sustainable world.

Immediately preparing for these technologies means being a step ahead of the competition and offering a product that appeals to the public. Is your packaging biodegradable? Do you follow the principles of sustainable production? Today this is what people are looking for.