{
  "id": 6725393,
  "title": "Could prawn shells become part of the solution to plastic waste? — Suriani Ibrahim",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/could-prawn-shells-become-part-of-the-solution-to-plastic-waste",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-11T07:37:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/what-you-think/2026/09/11/could-prawn-shells-become-part-of-the-solution-to-plastic-waste-suriani-ibrahim/234832"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 11, researchers at Universiti Malaya explored the potential of converting discarded prawn shells into biodegradable plastics. The study focused on transforming prawn shell waste into chitosan, a natural biopolymer, which could then be used to produce biodegradable plastic films. This innovation highlights the concept of the circular economy, where waste from one industry can serve as a resource for another.\n\nMalaysia faces two significant waste issues simultaneously: food waste and plastic waste. The seafood industry, in particular, generates a substantial amount of biological waste, including prawn shells, which often have limited value after the edible portions have been removed. However, prawn shells contain chitin, a naturally occurring substance that can be processed into chitosan. Chitosan has gained scientific interest due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility, and versatility. It has already been studied for various applications, such as food packaging, agriculture, biomedical, and environmental technologies.\n\nIn the research conducted at Universiti Malaya, chitosan was extracted from discarded prawn shells through multiple chemical treatment stages. The resulting material was then combined with starch and formed into thin bioplastic films using a solution-casting process. To assess the degradation potential of these films, the researchers buried them in soil and monitored their condition for four weeks. By the third week, visible changes began to occur, such as the films becoming smaller, changing color, and deteriorating in texture. By the fourth week, substantial degradation was observed.\n\nThis study demonstrates that prawn shell waste can be converted into chitosan and used to produce chitosan-starch films that degrade under soil burial conditions. The significance of this finding lies in its ability to address two environmental challenges—food waste and plastic waste—by connecting them through a potential solution. While there is still a considerable distance between laboratory-produced materials and commercially viable alternatives, this research encourages a reevaluation of what we consider waste. Prawn shells, once deemed useless, may still hold valuable chemical components that can be repurposed. The broader lesson of the circular economy is that solving our waste problem may involve finding new uses for discarded materials rather than simply disposing of them.",
  "summary": "SEPTEMBER 11 — The next time we peel prawns at the dinner table, the shells will probably go straight into the bin...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}