@article{schoubroeck_chacon_reynolds_lavoine_hakovirta_gonzalez_passel_venditti_2022, title={Environmental sustainability perception toward obvious recovered waste content in paper-based packaging: An online and in-person survey best-worst scaling experiment}, volume={1}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106682}, DOI={10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106682}, abstractNote={This study explores consumers’ visual sustainability impressions of paper-based packaging that has incorporated obvious waste content. Two research questions were addressed concerning (i) the environmental sustainability perception of noticeable waste content in packaging and (ii) the impact of the presentation format (i.e., online versus in-person surveys) when studying these perceptions. Best-worst scaling experiments were conducted, which made respondents choose the ‘most’ and ‘least’ environmentally friendly package. Packages were designed using paperboard substrates blending either brown linerboard or white hardwood pulp with different recovered waste materials. The results showed that consumers perceive obvious waste-containing packaging as more environmentally friendly than classical packaging (with no visual waste). Samples with a brown base and agricultural waste were perceived as more sustainable compared to white packaging and the use of paper waste. In addition, the presentation format changed respondents’ perception, and should therefore be carefully considered when designing surveys.}, journal={Resources Conservation and Recycling}, author={Schoubroeck, Sophie Van and Chacon, Lisandra and Reynolds, Autumn M. and Lavoine, Nathalie and Hakovirta, Marko and Gonzalez, Ronalds and Passel, Steven Van and Venditti, Richard A.}, year={2022}, month={Sep} }
 @article{chacon_lavoine_venditti_2022, title={Valorization of mixed office waste as macro-, micro-, and nano-sized particles in recycled paper containerboards for enhanced performance and improved environmental perception}, volume={5}, DOI={10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.106125}, abstractNote={Recent surveys have shown that consumers do not know how to recognize sustainable packaging and are misled by the excessive usage of environmental clues by the packaging industry. A better approach to communicate sustainability is therefore needed to promote purchasing towards sustainable products. This study proposes to re-design recycled paper-based containers so that consumers easily recognize visually large contaminants in the paper influencing the consumer to refer to this product as recycled and perceive it as sustainable. To this end, the appearance of recycled containers from old corrugated containers (OCC) was intentionally altered with the addition of processed mixed office waste (MOW) of distinct average aspect ratio (AR) (length divided by width), namely 52 (macro-scale), 72 (micro-scale), and 163 (nano-scale), to produce recycled paperboards with visually noticeable recycled contents. The addition of MOW with the lowest AR resulted in visible particles on the surface of paperboards, evidencing the presence of recycled materials. The mechanical performance with this material, however, decreased. On the other hand, the addition of MOW with the highest AR improved the mechanical properties of the paperboards similar to the addition of nanocellulose but with less obvious cues of it having recycled content in the product. Thus, the combination of low and high AR contaminants is suggested to strategically engineer sustainable packaging with high performance and clear visual clues of recycled content and positive environmental perception.}, journal={Resources Conservation and Recycling}, author={Chacon, Lisandra and Lavoine, Nathalie and Venditti, Richard A.}, year={2022}, month={Jan} }
 @article{sarder_piner_rios_chacon_artner_barrios_argyropoulos_2022, title={Copolymers of starch, a sustainable template for biomedical applications: A review}, volume={278}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-85120877665&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.118973}, abstractNote={The outstanding versatility of starch offers a source of inspiration for the development of high-performance-value-added biomaterials for the biomedical field, including drug delivery, tissue engineering and diagnostic imaging. This is because starch-based materials can be tailored to specific applications via facile grafting or other chemistries, introducing specific substituents, with starch being effectively the "template" used in all the chemical transformations discussed in this review. A considerable effort has been carried out to obtain specific tailored starch-based grafted polymers, taking advantage of its biocompatibility and biodegradability with appealing sustainability considerations. The aim of this review is to critically explore the latest research that use grafting chemistries on starch for the synthesis of products for biomedical applications. An effort is made in reviewing the literature that proposes synthetic "greener" approaches, the use of enzymes and their immobilized analogues and alternative solvent systems, including water emulsions, ionic liquids and supercritical CO2.}, journal={CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Sarder, Roman and Piner, Emily and Rios, David Cruz and Chacon, Lisandra and Artner, Mirela Angelita and Barrios, Nelson and Argyropoulos, Dimitris}, year={2022}, month={Feb}, pages={118973} }