TREND: Plant Technology

Plants are essential for maintaining ecological equilibrium of the earth and stabilising the ecosystem. Plants also happen to be the biodegradable OG, with the whole “from the earth … back to earth” scenario. So, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that any products or materials made from plants, their by-products or waste are the future. 

Scientists and innovators are giddy with the challenge of converting conventional materials with questionable environmental credentials into plant-based alternatives. One of the biggest breakthroughs is bioplastics where plant waste is turned into “plastics”. The "bio" means that at end of life, the product can break down naturally over time. Bioplastics are created through a chemical reaction that converts sugar found in carbohydrate-rich plants like algae, sugarcane and corn, into the same base chemical compound as plastics. 

The uptake of bioplastics has been particularly high in the medical field, and are increasingly used for medical implants, sutures and orthopaedic devices. As bioplastics are derived from organic material, they are compatible with the human body and break down easily over time, helping the healing process without further invasive procedures to remove sutures or devices when a patient has recovered. Also, medical single-use items such as syringes, gloves, cups and trays are rapidly being transitioned to bioplastics.

Bioplastics are just the tip of the iceberg for the world of plant-based materials. There’s plant leather, plant paint, “phytoremediation” water decontamination, plant-derived pesticides, and obviously the moonshot of them all, plant-based fuel. This trend is just going to get bigger and bigger.