Moringaoleifera or drumstick tree belongs to
Moringaceae family and it is the most commonly found
tree in tropical and subtropical region of south Asia. Due
to the nutritional importance of each and every part of
the tree it is also, known as the “Miracle tree”. The
moringa pod husk is inedible but the pod pulp and seeds
can be consumed. The deseeded and depulped moringa
pod contains crude fiber, cellulose, hemicelluloses in
significantly high amount. Since, the inedible pod husks
are waste material it can be utilized by up cycling it into
useful products. Therefore, sustainable approach was
used to develop biodegradable cutlery using M.oleifera
pod husk powder as it can serve as a better alternative to
single use plastic cutlery.
The drumstick pod husk powder was subjected to
mild acid treatment and gentle bleaching and the
obtained pulp, was casted into moulds and micro-waved.
On completion of this process biodegradable cutlery was
obtained. Further, biodegradability of this cutlery was
observed. This same methodology can be extrapolated to
develop more eco-friendly products other than cutlery.
Keywords : MoringaOleifera (Drumstick), MoringaPod Husk, Biodegradable Cutlery, Sustainable Approach, Plastic Cutlery