By: |A Surprising Use for an Overlooked Food WastePeople usually throw away pumpkin peel during food processing. However, researchers have now turned this overlooked waste into an eco-friendly alternative to plastic packaging. Scientists from Kyushu University in Japan created a biodegradable food packaging material from discarded pumpkin peel that outperformed conventional plastic in several laboratory tests. Researchers Turn Pumpkin Peel into PackagingThe research team converted pumpkin peel into tiny carbon quantum dots through a high-pressure heating process followed by freeze-drying. In the future, manufacturers could even spray the coating directly onto fruits and vegetables to provide protection without relying on traditional plastic packaging.