Plastic Made From Plants

Kerry Trueman January 31, 2008 | 12:42 pm EST

There are two big problems with plastic; it wastes a lot of non-renewable resources to make it, and then, when we throw it “away”, it doesn’t really go anywhere, “˜cause it takes, like, 10,000 years to degrade.

But a “green” chemist at the University of Prince Edward Island and his research team are working on a new kind of plastic, one that’s made from biodegradable, renewable agricutural by-products, as the Guardian reports. Looks like the land of Anne of Green Gables is getting even greener.

Learn more about how scientists are making plastic out of plants at smithsonianmag.com.