Comparing Bioplastics made from Arrowroot Starch vs Orange Peels and Banana Peels to Determine which has the Greatest Durability and Water Resistance

Plastic is an essential part of daily life. However, due to the composition of traditional plastics, it is extremely toxic to the environment. In an attempt to mitigate this issue, bio-based plastics -namely, bioplastics- were created.. There are many types of bioplastics including cellulose-based, bacterial-based, and starch-based bioplastics. Starch-based bioplastics can be made of many different components including basic starches and fruits. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the application of bioplastics through certain conditions such as force and water. It was hypothesized that in comparison to orange peels, banana peels would be the most effective bioplastic due to their higher starch concentration. In order to test this, three different types of bioplastics were created. First is arrowroot starch, which was treated as the control. This is followed by bioplastics made from banana peels and orange peels, which contain an abundant amount of starch. Due to their makeup, the methods of creating the bioplastics differed slightly between the banana and orange peels. However, both bioplastics required the use of glycerin, a plasticizer. The results were statistically significant. The mean differences overall for the bioplastics was highly significant, with a F(2,82) =47.6, p=< .00001. The hypothesis was partially supported.