Alternative Matters Multidisciplinary Applied Collaborative (MAC)

Our planet is currently facing a plastic pollution epidemic. About 50% of all plastic is used once, yet populates our oceans and landfills forever. The process to create effective, biodegradable alternatives to plastic food packaging has proven challenging, but the Alternative Matters team here at The Ohio State University celebrated a recent success in this field.  Due to a study conducted by the OSU research collaborative, there exists a groundbreaking product derived from microbial fermentation and strengthened with natural rubber that successfully mimics traditional plastic packaging and is 100% biodegradable. The current goal of the Alternative Matters MAC is to additionally strengthen the product through the use of different biodegradable materials.