NDSU researching e-commerce packaging that could decompose in your garden – InForum

FARGO — Lokesh Karthik Narayanan, an assistant professor at North Dakota State University, thinks he has the sustainable alternative for e-commerce packaging that could also aid economic development for rural and tribal communities in North Dakota.

Narayanan’s idea sprouted after an Amazon Prime Day two years ago when he saw bubble-lined plastic bags and cardboard boxes scattered around his garage.

“The first thing that came to mind is why not use something natural,” he said.

His idea began to grow through his passion for gardening.

“My goal was to have something that can be used while gardening,” he said. “You dissolve it in water, put it in your garden and it will act as mulch.”

To create the alternative packaging prototypes, he uses byproducts of flax and hemp from local farms and tribal communities.

According to Narayanan, most of the material he uses for the packaging is usually discarded or burned byproducts. By utilizing these materials, he hopes to make cost-efficient products while supporting local communities in North Dakota.

“Why not make use of something that is going to waste and find secondary usage to help the farmers, help society, help the state and help the economy?” he said.

The idea of ​​repurposing hemp is not new, as Fargo developers built a hempcrete home in 2022. Hempcrete combines hurd, the shredded inner core of industrial hemp, with a lime binder and water.

Narayanan said his primary goal is to make the packaging from sustainable materials that can be easily recycled. He said most cardboard is 100% recyclable but comes from felling trees. Other packaging, like plastic, is not made sustainable and cannot be recycled in the area, threatening the environment.

According to Narayanan, the Fargo area cannot recycle certain types of materials like bubble wrap and plastic packaging.

“If we are limited in big size cities like us, think of packages that are going into rural areas where they can’t even recycle the cardboard,” he said.

Fargo can recycle paper, mail, cardboard, cans, plastic bottles, magazines and newspapers, but not other materials like certain plastic and bubble wrap. The city has an online quiz for residents to test their knowledge of recycling protocol.

Narayanan’s idea for sustainable e-commerce packaging has been in the works for years. A little over a month ago, he received a nearly $300,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to jump-start the project.

With the help of the grant money, Narayanan and his team can enter the beginning stages of development with the dreams to create a more realistic package over the next two years.

Graduate student and research assistant Raihan Quader said he looks forward to working with Narayanan on this project, as they have worked together for over four years on various projects.

“It looks like it’s great so far for a pilot study,” Quader said.

The pair’s next step is to make the materials water resistant so their work can receive greater grants and become adopted by large-scale operations.

They plan to use natural resources like alke and natural seed oils in contrast to the commonly used, water-resistant polyvinyl alcohol, which is biodegradable but uses chemicals.

Narayanan said the water resistance is the starting step in a long process of the package. He often includes students and other professors in his work so multiple areas of expertise can help the product’s journey.

“Dr. Lokesh worked really hard on these and took his time to make sure it is perfect for this grant,” Quader said. “It fills me with joy that it is approved and we can finally work on it.”

Makayla Anderson is an intern reporter at Forum Communications. She was born and raised in Bismarck, ND and on a farm 20 miles east of Bismarck. Makayla currently attends Concordia College, majoring in English writing with minors in business and journalism. She plans on graduating in spring of 2025. When she is not reporting, she enjoys reading, playing basketball and painting.