Scientists at the Imperial College of London have come up with a solution for a plastic that biodegrades much quicker than traditional petroleum- and plant-based plastics. These new sugar-based plastics could be composted in peoples' homes along with leftover scraps of food, disappearing much quicker than PLA corn-based plastics.
This new type of plastic is created by extracting a polymer from the glucose found in certain trees and grasses. Dr. Charlotte Williams, the head researcher for this project, said, "Our key breakthrough was in finding a way of using a non-food crop to form a polymer, as there are ethical issues around using food sources in this way." The plants used will take less crops to produce more plastics versus the corn-based version.
