Pile of discarded polystyrene outside the Tokyo Fish Market
© Daniel Calonge

Innovative Ideas for Biodegradable Plastic

Our world has become dependent on plastic. It’s in my toothbrush, my shoes, my sunglasses, and even the keys I type on.

And it won’t go away.

For decades, plastic has been made from petroleum, and, once formed into a plastic cup, packing material, grocery bag, or toothbrush, the plastic is here to stay.

Lucky bits of plastic may get recycled into new products, but no matter its shape, petroleum-based plastic does not biodegrade. That means, in some form, that plastic will be on this planet long after every single one of us reading this post is gone.

In addition, according to the Technical Research Center of Finland, petroleum-based plastic annually consumes about 5% of the world’s oil. And of all the plastics used, about 40% of it goes into packaging.

Oh, I see—we can’t sustain this!

Thankfully, innovators are developing biodegradable plastic alternatives, and they are turning to some surprising sources.

Fungus

College classmates Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre were fascinated with fungal mycelium, the network of tiny tube-like filaments from which mushrooms grow and get nutrients. They noticed how, when mycelium grows, it is so intertwined that it bonds things together.

Networks of mushroom filaments called mycelium help decompose plant materials.
© Thinkstock

Now several years later, their company, Ecovative Designs, develops packaging materials with mycelium.

Mushroom packaging
© Ecovative

• First they grind up local agricultural waste like stalks and husks.
• Then they mix the ground material with water and mycelium and put it into forms, or molds, to shape it.
• In five days, the mycelium grows around the waste in the shape of the mold.
• Next, they dry out the newly-formed material so it no longer grows.
• And then it’s ready for packing and shipping!

This alternative to polystyrene is not only strong and light, but it is fire retardant. And, once the materials have served their purpose, they can be easily composted.

This short documentary tells a bit more of their story.

If the video does not display, watch it here.  Also, you can see Bayer give a longer TED talk here.

Chicken Feathers

People eat a lot of chicken. One by-product of this, whether we want to think about it or not, is billions of pounds of chicken feathers.

Chicken feathers are made of keratin, just like fingernails, hooves, and hair. And they are strong.

Chickens constantly shed their feathers, just like cats and dogs shed fur.
© Thinkstock

Walter Schmidt has spent decades thinking about how to use those feathers to make useful products.

And one product he’s been working on is an everyday biodegradable flowerpot.

How do feathers become flowerpots?

• First the hard central quill shaft of the feather is separated from the softer fibers.
• The fibers are ground into powder and combined with a naturally-occurring polymer.
• The resulting combination is then formed into plastic pots.

The benefits are many! This chicken-feather plastic is light, can be heated and reshaped, and will not instantly dissolve in water. But it is also strong and biodegradable.

Best of all, the flowerpots can be planted into the ground where they will decompose and provide nutrients for the soil.

Schmidt notes, “Stuff floats around in the ocean [or] is mixed in landfills that stay there for generations. A far better solution is to make less mess in the first place and to have that material naturally recycle in a reasonable amount of time.”

Chemist Masud Huda (background), chemist Walter Schmidt (center),
and Marc Teffeau, (right), produce biodegradable flowerpots from chicken feathers.
Photo by Stephen Ausmus

Tree Resin

Chuanbing Tang is turning to the trees for his inspiration. He and his team are experimenting with evergreen tree resin to produce a plastic.

When a conifer tree is wounded, it produces liquid resin that hardens and protects the damage.
© Thinkstock

Resin has been used for ages as a protective seal. Artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome have been found with resin-based finishes. Today, it is used in varnishes and adhesives. But using it to form plastic is a newer idea.

“Most plastics from non-renewable resources are generally not biodegradable,” Tang said. “With a polymer framework derived from renewable sources, we’re able to make materials that should break down more readily in the environment.”

Hope for the Future

Oh, I see.  Plastic alternatives, created from mushrooms, feathers, and tree resin, will biodegrade, or break down, making these innovative ideas sustainable.

Sounds like my toothbrush doesn’t have to be around for my great grandchildren after all.

To hear scientist Paul Stamets discuss six ways mushrooms can save the world and to see a mycelium network, visit “Livin’ in a Mycelia World.”

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