If we completely solve the plastic pollution problem, wouldn't the Nobel Prize in chemistry be a sure thing? Bamboo, the favorite food of panda Fubao, has emerged as an alternative to solve the waste plastic problem. Scientists in China have developed a technology that can replace high-strength plastics used in home appliances and automotive interiors with bamboo fiber.
Bamboo shoots up when it rains. Its growth is so fast—truly like "bamboo shoots after rain"—that raw material costs are low. Plastic made from bamboo decomposes easily in soil, and if commercialized, is expected to greatly help prevent plastic pollution.
◇ Recyclable while maintaining 90% of its strength
A team led by Professor Yu Haipeng (Haipeng Yu) of Northeast Forestry University and Professor Zhao Dawei (Dawei Zhao) of Shenyang University of Chemical Technology in China said on the 8th in the international journal Nature Communications that they "developed a new method to produce high-strength biodegradable plastic from bamboo."
According to the paper, bio-plastic made from bamboo is similar to petroleum-based plastic in strength, moldability, and thermal stability, but can biodegrade in soil within 50 days, opening a new path for developing sustainable plastic alternatives. It can also be fully recycled while retaining 90% of its strength.
As plastic pollution worsens, bio-plastics—plastics made from natural materials—are gaining popularity, but they still account for only 0.5% of the more than 400 million tons of plastic produced annually. That is because bio-plastics have lower mechanical strength than petroleum-based plastics and are difficult to apply easily in common manufacturing processes.
The Chinese team developed a method to produce plastic from cellulose, the fibrous component of bamboo. They first treated bamboo by adding zinc chloride and a simple acid; this process breaks the strong chemical bonds of bamboo fiber into smaller cellulose molecules. When ethanol was added to the treated bamboo solution, the cellulose molecules rearranged and turned into a strong solid plastic.
In experiments, the team said bamboo plastic showed mechanical strength surpassing that of conventional petroleum-based plastics and plant-based bio-plastics. In tests of mechanical and thermal stability and moldability, bamboo plastic performed on par with or better than existing plastics, demonstrating its potential as an industrial alternative.
◇ High strength is a drawback, limiting packaging replacement
Andrew Dove, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, said, "The strength of bamboo plastic is comparable to common plastics used in automobiles, home appliances, and construction." Professor Zhao said, "Bamboo grows so quickly that it has long been widely used as timber, but its current applications are still largely limited to traditional bamboo household goods," adding, "This shows the potential for bamboo to become a sustainable plastic alternative."
However, the fact that bamboo plastic is strong also means its range of use is narrow. Seventy percent of waste plastic is packaging. Professor Dove said, "It is not a material that threatens polyethylene or polypropylene, which are widely used for packaging."
References
Nature Communications (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63904-2