Fish bones may be used to create the environmentally friendly plastic we've been hoping for
Plastics are a blight on land and sea, posing a threat to human and animal welfare, but finding a more "green" solution, apart from dramatically cutting our takeout containers and plastic straws, has proven difficult. Polyurethane, a form of plastic used in clothing, spray foam, mattresses, and other products, is made from crude oil and phosgene, a poisonous gas. The Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada has created a method for turning fish waste into a substance that is similar to polyurethane but does not contain petroleum-derived crude. This plastic, which is composed of biological materials, will then dissolve more quickly, resulting in fewer microplastics in the atmosphere. “Around 40 to 60 percent of a fish's landed weight ends up going to waste,” she says. She claims that “surprisingly a lot of waste fish and waste oil will be generated around the world,” with oil accounting for 20% of the total. One of the most important character