Denmark funds grass-based packaging efforts

In Denmark, researchers are researching the use of grass fibers to create food delivery packaging in an effort to reduce plastics waste and lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

Members of the project, dubbed SinProPack, hope their efforts could eventually displace the more than 10,000 tons of plastic packaging used for food delivery packaging in Denmark with 8,000 tons of grass fiber-based paper. The material is made from cellulose from grass after protein is extracted for animal feed. The group is also evaluating biomass from peat soil as a source of fibers. 

“Disposable packaging made of grass brings a lot of environmental benefits,” Anne Christine Steenkjær Hastrup, center director at Danish Technological Institute, says in a statement. “The packaging will be 100% biodegradable, so if someone accidentally drops their packaging in nature, it will decompose naturally.”

SinProPack received €440,000 (US$538,000) in funding from The Danish Environmental Protection Agency.  The project is expected to conclude in August 2023.