Caption: A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has developed new bioplastics that degrade on the same timescale as a banana peel in a backyard compost bin. These bioplastics are made from powdered blue-green cyanobacteria cells, otherwise known as spirulina. Here Mallory Parker, UW materials science and engineering doctoral student, holds up a bioplastic cube made from spirulina.

Credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington