Another fascinating development comes from the exciting world of bioplastics. scientists at Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania have created a biodegradable plastic which is able to decompose in two years within a compost bin.

Applications of this material once it is made public include use as single-use packaging for goods, replacements for plastic shopping bags and storage bags, and more.

One of the challenges the scientists faced was that the material they were working with, cellulose, needed to be able to be made transparent or semi-transparent to match current plastic packaging products. With regular plastic, heating is involved to create what is called fluid plastic for these ends, but cellulose tends to burn when heated.

The scientists were able to find the correct composites needed to turn the cellulose into fluid plastic, however, allowing transparence as well as well as a nontoxic package safe for foodstuffs.