A research team from Binghamton University has published groundbreaking results in the journal Bioresource Technology, developing a new method to convert food waste into biodegradable plastics. This technology has the potential to simultaneously address two major environmental problems—food waste and plastic pollution—and has received high recognition from peer-review experts.

Led by PhD student Tianzheng Liu and supervised by Professor Jinsheng Zhao and Professor Kaiming Ye, the research team used food waste collected from campus cafeterias as raw material. Through a fermentation process, lactic acid was extracted as a carbon source and ammonium sulfate was added as a nitrogen source to feed Cupriavidus necator, successfully synthesizing polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics. Experimental data showed that the process achieved a 90% PHA recovery rate, and storing food waste for one week did not affect conversion efficiency.

"This technology not only enables the resource utilization of food waste but also reduces the production cost of bioplastics," said Professor Zhao. Currently, biodegradable plastic production is costly, mainly relying on refined sugars and pure microbial cultures. This study broke new ground by using mixed food waste as the culture medium and verified the stability of the process after proportionally mixing different types of food.

The team also developed a complementary technology to convert the solid residue remaining after fermentation into organic fertilizer. The researchers noted that the process already has potential for industrial application, and the next step is to scale up production. The campus dining system at the State University of New York provided a steady source of food waste for the study, in line with the university's environmental policy prohibiting the landfilling of food waste.