MELAKA – A team of researchers from Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka’s (UTeM) Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology (FTKMP) and Mechanical Engineering Faculty have successfully developed an innovative plastic container made from tapioca and banana leaves.
The team’s chief researcher who is also FTKMP senior lecturer, Dr Ridhwan Jumaidin, said besides being environmentally friendly, the container shaped like a tray could be used to package products while helping to reduce environmental pollution.
He said the project to develop the product took about a year through a short-term research grant, and it was expected to be the main ingredient in the production of single-use products, significantly reducing environmental pollution.
“This plastic product is free from toxic and dangerous chemical materials compared to normal plastic commonly used now because the latter is made using petroleum, which is toxic when burned.
“Synthetic plastic made from petroleum cannot completely degrade when discarded, while plastics based on tapioca and banana leaves can decompose in just eight weeks if buried in the ground,” he said in a statement here today.
He also said the innovative product was a type of thermoplastic that is recyclable, thus saving the resources used and adding value to the product.- Bernama
