17-year-old student turns food waste into biodegradable paper towels: How his innovative project could give everyday waste a new purpose

Used paper towels are usually thrown away after cleaning up spills or drying surfaces. But a 17-year-old student from California has explored whether discarded food could instead be used to create a biodegradable material for making paper towels.

According to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), Arnav Kodavati’s science project investigates how cellulose recovered from food waste can be transformed into absorbent sheets. The approach combines cellulose-rich fibres with pectin and uses calcium ions to strengthen the resulting material.

How Food Waste Can Be Turned Into Paper Towels


Many types of food waste contain cellulose and other plant-based materials that can potentially be recovered and reused. Kodavati’s project focuses on extracting cellulose-rich fibres from discarded food rather than allowing the material to become waste.

The food scraps are first dried and processed into smaller particles. Unwanted components are then removed through a series of treatments, leaving behind fibres that can be used to create a paper-like sheet.

The concept could give food waste another purpose by turning it into a raw material for everyday products.

Why Pectin and Calcium Are Added

Simply creating a sheet from cellulose is not enough for a paper towel. The material needs to absorb liquid while remaining strong enough to hold together when wet.

To address this challenge, the project uses pectin, a naturally occurring plant-based polymer. The cellulose and pectin mixture is formed into thin sheets and then treated with calcium chloride.

The calcium ions help create links between the pectin molecules, forming a stronger internal structure. This reinforcement is intended to prevent the sheet from breaking apart too quickly when exposed to water.

Balancing Absorbency and Wet Strength

One of the main challenges with absorbent materials is finding the right balance between how quickly they absorb liquid and how well they hold together afterward.

The project examined how factors such as sheet weight, pore structure and binder concentration affected performance. According to ISEF, some formulations showed a 20 to 40 per cent reduction in absorption speed after calcium-based crosslinking, but their wet strength improved considerably.

The reported wet-strength measurements increased from around 0.19 newtons in the material without crosslinking to as much as 0.34 newtons after the treatment.

How Much Liquid Can the Material Absorb?

The prototype sheets were tested using small pieces measuring 5 by 5 centimetres.

The stronger formulations reportedly absorbed around 5 to 6 millilitres of liquid per sheet while retaining measurable wet strength. Different sheet weights and pectin concentrations were also tested to find a suitable balance between strength and absorption.

Could Food Waste Become a Paper-Making Material?

The process explored in the project uses acid, alkaline and bleaching treatments to separate and clean the cellulose-rich fibres. The resulting material is then formed into sheets and treated with calcium chloride.

These techniques are related to processes already used in paper and fibre processing, although the key difference is the source of the cellulose.

However, moving from a laboratory prototype to large-scale production would present additional challenges. Food waste varies significantly depending on its composition, meaning a commercial process would need to handle inconsistent raw materials while maintaining reliable fibre quality.

What Could It Cost?

The project also considered whether the material could eventually compete with existing sustainable paper products.

According to the project's estimates, the prototype could cost approximately $2.98 per 100 sheets at scale, compared with an estimated $3.40 per 100 sheets for the sustainable paper towel product used as a benchmark.

These are projections rather than evidence that the product is currently being commercially manufactured at that price. Large-scale production would also need to account for the costs of collecting food waste, transportation, processing, chemicals, equipment, energy and quality control.

Could the Material Be Used for More Than Paper Towels?

The concept could potentially extend beyond paper towels. The combination of recovered cellulose, plant-based pectin and calcium reinforcement could be explored for other disposable absorbent products.

Possible applications could include wipes, packaging materials and absorbent mats, although each product would require different levels of softness, strength, stiffness and liquid absorption.

[With TOI inputs]