Biotech Company Uses Pea Protein To Create New Biodegradable Plastic

Microplastics are a big polluter of waterways and oceans, and single-use plastics are a big part of the problem.

Peas could now be part of the solution.

Biotech company Xampla has engineered plant protein into a material that acts like single-use plastic. It starts as a liquid that’s turned into sheets for packaging items like dishwasher detergent, sandwiches and candy. It then biodegrades in just days.

“At the moment, the micro capsules contain plastics which would not degrade and last for ages in the ocean,” Anne Jacobs with Xampla said. “Our capsules are made of protein and would be eaten by fish eventually."

This new technology would make it healthier not just for fish, but for humans as well.

Studies show the average American ingests more than 70,000 microplastic particles every year.