In modern society, packaging is an integral part of the technological process of food production. The growing amount of packaging waste is a serious environmental problem, which is why there is a great interest in replacing classic plastics with biodegradable materials, which are biochemically converted much faster into basic building blocks such as water and carbon dioxide by the action of microorganisms. The rate of degradation depends on various factors, such as the type of material, environmental factors (temperature, humidity), the activity of microorganisms, and others. Most biodegradable materials are made from renewable resources that are readily available. These are natural polymers (starch, cellulose, chitin and chitosan, various animal and plant proteins), polymers produced by polymerization of natural compounds such as lactic acid (polylactic acid - PLA), and polymers produced by microorganisms (polyhydroxyalkanoates - PHA). Some properties of biodegradable materials are positive (design possibilities, transparency, combinability), while others are negative (fragility, poorer barrier properties, moisture sensitivity, high price), which still limits the increased use of such materials in practice. Intensive research has already borne fruit, as various technological solutions have made it possible to significantly improve many properties, which will most likely contribute to increase the share of biodegradable materials in food packaging in the future.
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