University of Queensland Researchers, Dr. Luigi Vandi and Vincent Mathel, released a biodegradable container made from bacteria-produced biodegradable polyesters known as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and Australian wood fibers.

The University of Queensland said the container promises to "set a new sustainability standard for mass-produced food packaging such as fruit punnets."

The researchers, backed by an assortment of industry collaborators and an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship, spent three years perfecting their biocomposite. 

According to Dr. Mathel, the container has been successfully tested as a strawberry punnet, and it biodegrades completely in soil, fresh water, the ocean, and compost. 

"This is a new material that carries all the sustainability benefits of a bio-sourced product while having the same properties as mass-produced plastic packaging and containers,” Mr Mathel said. 

Mathel also explained the team selected wood as the ‘biofiller’ to flesh out the plastic because it was abundant, low in cost, and could enhance the end-of-life standard for biodegradable and compostable products.