Could the humble cactus be the solution to our plastic waste problem? Chemical engineering professor Sandra Pascoe Ortiz is beta-testing an edible, biodegradable packaging material made from the juice of prickly pear cactus leaves. The juice "is a natural polymer that can be improved by combining certain substances to give it a similar appearance and properties to those of some petroleum-derived plastics," she says.
I found a
video posted on the BBC News site that explains the discovery and the process developed by Dr. Ortiz. With all the news lately about how much plastic waste there is on the planet, especially in our oceans, this is a dramatic ray of hope for a material that could literally change the earth. - Dr. Tom
