Dear Colleagues,

Polymeric materials, more commonly known as plastics, are versatile materials that offer specific solutions for applications in various sectors, such as packaging, construction, automotive, electronics, sports, agriculture and medicine. These materials, due to their attractive and interesting properties such as light weight, durability, easy workability, low cost and good thermo-mechanical properties, are produced in large volumes. However, there are still some limits that absolutely must be eliminated, such as waste abandonment and end-of-life treatment, for a circular and efficient economy. Overcoming this challenge would also allow plastics to act in realizing a more sustainable future.

Food packaging, represents the largest field of application of plastics and it is responsible for the highest production of waste as most of these are single use plastics. Even if reuse or recycling are the preferred options, they are not always possible, especially when the packaging is dedicated to food, due to contamination risks. Therefore, the development of new eco-friendly biopolymer-based materials, such as biodegradable and/or bio-based and/or edible films, is strongly encouraged, for an environmentally sustainable development. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated changes in human consumption patterns, as a result of rigid public policies that have affected all socioeconomic sectors, causing an increase in the generation of plastic waste and incorrect disposal of them, transforming the crisis in the health sector into an economic, social and environmental threat. In this way, the dependence on disposable plastic products was evidenced, as well as the fragility of the waste management system and reduction of these materials, which is extremely important, mainly due to its long-term repercussions in a post-pandemic world. Therefore, now more than ever, it is necessary to develop new technologies that can mitigate the use of plastics, especially those derived from non-renewable sources (petroleum). Eco-friendly materials can represent a valid alternative as they can at the same time satisfy the requirements of biodegradability, biocompatibility with the environment in which they are disposed of and the release of non-toxic degradation products, also avoiding the dependence from non-renewable sources. 

This special issue will give academia and industry the opportunity to present an overview of new sustainable materials. The main goal of this Special Issue will be to collect recent progress in the preparation of eco-friendly materials for potential applications including but not limited to food, packaging, biomedical and engineering. The themed research topic is expected to provide more awareness of the use of such materials in innumerable aspects of our daily routine.

Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following: research papers, review, case study, short-note.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Valentina Manuela Siracusa
Prof. Dr. Frederic Debeaufort
Dr. Carlo Ingrao
Dr. Giulia Guidotti
Guest Editors

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• eco-friendly polymers
• edible films
• edible coatings
• biodegradable polymers
• bio-based polymers
• polymers from wastes
• sustainable polymers
• biopolymers
• life cycle assessment (LCA) of polymers
• edible film technology
• active packaging