An approach towards sustainable development by synthesizing biodegradable plastic from Musa acuminate and Musa balbisiana.

The diminishing supply of petroleum along with the pollution caused due to the non biodegradability of petroleum based plastics, has led to an increased interest in the field of bio-plastics. Polyhydroxy alkonoates (PHAs) or Polyhydroxy butyrates (PHBs) are the bio-plastics that can numerous traditional plastics which are currently made up of petrochemicals. The biological origin of the PHAs and PHBs assures the same desired commercial properties with the advantage of being naturally biodegradable, hence imparting minimum pollution load on environment leading towards sustainable development. Similar bio-plastics can also be prepared from the fruit wastes which can prove as potential alternatives for the commercially available conventional plastics. The present research work aims at preparation of bio-plastic from the banana peels scientifically known to be Musa acuminate & Musa balbisiana . Bananas, scientifically known to be Musa acuminate & Musa balbisiana, are considered as a popular fruit which is consumed worldwide with a yearly production of over 145 million tons [1] in 2011. The fruit can be consumed after the removal of the banana peel. Because of this removal of the banana peel, a significant amount of organic waste is generated. The banana peels are amalgamated with glycerol as plasticizer and sodium metabisulphite as antimicrobial .The preparation is achieved in two phases. The first phase comprises of levigation of banana peels with unique concentration of different chemicals followed by the second phase in which this paste is transformed into sheets by heating in oven at 125-135⁰c temperature. Its properties like tensile strength, creep, thickness has also been studied in this research work. The obtained sheet can be restructured for its designated uses.