Abstract
Petroleum-based packaging remains a major source of fossil-resource consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions, and persistent plastic waste, creating a need for packaging systems aligned with cleaner production and circular-economy principles. Starch is an abundant, low-cost, and biodegradable biopolymer, but its moisture sensitivity, weak mechanical performance, and poorly controlled degradation limit large-scale substitution of conventional plastics. This review synthesizes recent progress in starch-based packaging from the perspective of degradation control, nanocomposite development, and life-cycle sustainability. The multiscale structure of starch is first linked to enzymatic accessibility and environmental degradation kinetics. Biological, physical, and chemical degradation pathways are then discussed in relation to service stability and end-of-life disintegration. Strategies involving individual nanofillers, synergistic combinations of nanofillers, and environmentally friendly nanocomposite preparation are evaluated for their ability to improve barrier and mechanical performance while regulating degradation behavior. Life-cycle assessment, carbon-footprint accounting, and degradation-product safety are further integrated to identify trade-offs among material performance, processing emissions, agricultural inputs, nanofiller fate, and disposal scenarios. The review highlights that cleaner production of starch-based packaging requires simultaneous optimization of renewable feedstocks, low-carbon modification processes, controllable degradation, and standardized environmental assessment. Future development should prioritize scalable and environmentally friendly production of starch-based nanocomposites, smart degradation triggers, multi-scenario life-cycle evaluation, and industrial processing windows to support verifiable environmental benefits.