Shrimp Shells Could Make the Green Plastic of the Future

Unlike other forms of bioplastic, like those made from potatoes or corn, chitin plastic does not simply replace the carbon source for the polymer, it actually replaces the carbon-based plastic polymer, making it a totally biodegradable and sustainable material.

Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute used chitin from discarded shrimp shells from a shrimp processing plant to make plastic materials from egg cartons to chess pieces.

Javier Fernandez, Wyss Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, joins KPCC’s Take Two to explain how chitin works.