5 strange things that can be made into plastic

All polymer is a derivative product of something natural. But recent years have seen scientists harvesting polymers from some of Mother Nature’s less likely sources

1 - Egg shells

In the UK, the University of Leicester has been involved in an on-going project to recycle egg shells into polymer cartons – for eggs!

In charge of the research team is Professor Andy Abbott who said: “We specialise in researching and developing innovative manufacturing solutions around recycling technology. This project is focused on researching novel methodologies for recovering and re using a waste stream into a sustainable financially viable material supply locally.”

2 – Spider silk

Numerous firms are looking into the potential of polymeric spider silk – famously one of the strongest materials, it is said that a strand the width of a pencil could stop a Boeing 747 mid-flight. Amsilk is one such company, and has developed a method of making a scalable fibre from spider silk.

3 – Oyster shells

Crack this one and the world’s your oyster. Clariant is just one firm using renewable oyster shell as a filler in flame retardant plastics.

4 – Potatoes

The humble potato is full of starch – which in turn is full of polymeric structures. In fact a great educational experiment for chemistry pupils involves making plastic directly from potatoes.

5 – Mushrooms

These mushrooms really are magic. Tradenamed MycoBond, the product is a foam-like substance derived from fungus, which is being targeted at packaging for large furniture.