Additional information

Cheese making industries produce large amounts of whey which is costly to dispose of. The Wheypack LIFE project explored the possibility of digesting the whey with E. coli bacteria strains that feed on the whey lactose and process it into polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) plastic. This fermentation process is able to produce 20g of PHB per liter of whey while significantly reducing its polluting capacity (the process reduces 75% of the biological oxygen demand and 40% of the chemical oxygen demand). The resulting PHB is 50% cheaper than that obtained through conventional processes. In addition this plastic can be used to produce cheese packaging with a 35% lower carbon footprint than that produced with other plastics. PHB packaging is 100% biodegradable, further lowering the environmental impact of cheese production. The Whey pack project has found a way to recycle a cheese by-product into plastic that can be reused by the dairy industry, thus further closing the production cycle, reducing waste disposal and packaging costs and increasing the environmental performance of the cheese making process.