iGEM Metro Toronto 2023
The Great Lakes is currently facing a growing environmental problem in the past decade: plastic pollution. With the past few years in the pandemic, Canadians have seen an increase in the use of plastic, resulting in over 3 million tonnes of plastic ending up as waste in landfills and the environment annually(1), with 22 million pounds of this waste entering the Great Lakes(2). Furthermore, less than 10% of this waste is recycled, of which a major percentage is food packaging(3), ending up as microplastics in the water, causing problems for all living life dependent on the water.
As students in Toronto, a city situated along the shores of Lake Ontario, as well as a city that still uses plastic in most of its food packaging, we recognize the urgency and the significance of addressing this greater issue of plastic pollution, and we feel that it is right for us to tackle this by providing a sustainable alternative, starting locally in our communities. In addition, Canada has recently (2022-2023) implemented regulations with their Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations, aimed at having a net-zero plastic waste by 2030. Our research is in alignment with their timeline, contributing to solving the often-overlooked aspect of food packaging.
In recent years, bioplastics have been a hot topic of research for many, providing a biodegradable, renewable, and sustainable alternative to the single-use plastics that humans have used for the last century. One method of producing bioplastics that has been shown to be especially effective is the use of bacterial cellulose(BC) from Acetobacter xylinum, demonstrating high biodegradability, biocompatibility, flexibility, and many other qualities that make it a popular material to build polymers out of(4). However, one aspect of bacterial cellulose that is sometimes overlooked is its antimicrobial properties(5), which provide it with the ability to serve as a sustainable alternative to food packaging, one of the biggest sources of single-use plastics.
In our product, we will use a combination of bacterial cellulose and metal oxides to polymerize films, combining the antimicrobial properties of BC and previously tested oxides, such as zinc oxide and copper oxide. This combination will increase the functionality of the film as an alternative for food packaging, and would also additionally be mechanically strong and have high malleability. We will also test the film’s efficiency in various applications, and evaluate its environmental impact throughout its life cycle to ensure its sustainability and align it with our pollution reduction goals. We will also look into potential ways to produce it in mass amounts, to ultimately achieve our goal of curbing plastic pollution in the Great Lakes and protecting marine ecosystems and promoting environmental conservation.
1. International Institute for Sustainable Development. (2020, August 11). Covid-19 has Canada using more plastic. What impact will this have on our fresh water?. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/covid-19-has-canada-using-more-plastic-what-impact-will-have-our-fresh-water
2. Michigan Radio. (2021, May 6). Plastic debris is getting into the Great Lakes, our drinking water, and our food. Great Lakes Now. https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/plastic-debris-great-lakes-drinking-water-food/
3. York University. (n.d.). Food packaging. Food packaging | Food Policy for Canada. https://foodpolicyforcanada.info.yorku.ca/plastic/
4. Popa, L., Ghica, M. V., Tudoroiu, E.-E., Ionescu, D.-G., & Dinu-Pîrvu, C.-E. (2022). Bacterial cellulose—a remarkable polymer as a source for biomaterials tailoring. Materials, 15(3), 1054. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031054
5. Zheng, L., Li, S., Luo, J., & Wang, X. (2020). Latest advances on bacterial cellulose-based antibacterial materials as wound dressings. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.593768