Wood waste based bioplastic can be completely recycled and biodegrade

There’s a new alternative to regular plastics being developed, and it’s made out of wood.

Plastics are a bit of a problem for us earth living creatures. It’s damaging to both produce and dispose of, and as we keep making more the problem is only getting worse.

Thankfully smarter minds than mine have been hard at work developing bioplastics, and the one of the newest ones is looking very promising.

According to NewAtlas, a team at Yale University have been working on a bioplastic made from wood waste products. The wood powder is first turned to paste using a biodegradable solvent. This causes chemical bonding which allows the slurry to be cast as hardens into the bioplastic.

This form has so far shown to be quite strong, resistant to UV light, and can even hold liquids. It’s a very promising piece of material so far.

This bioplastic was then experimented on to determine just how environmentally safe the breakdown process is. It was buried and started to break down in about two weeks, degrading completely over the course of three months. It can even be returned to slurry and reused without degrading.

As with all these things there will still be many tests before we see or don’t see it on a commercial scale, but it’s a bit of a light and a step towards a less plastic filled world.