Every year , over 400 million tonne of plastic are produced . Aboutfive percentof that terminate up in river and finally the ocean , or is shake off directly into the ocean by the sportfishing industriousness . Plastic , whether it breaks down intomicroplasticor not , is an unfolding environmental andhealthcatastrophe that touch on the whole planet . Many solutions have been proposed and researcher have now showcased a new material that looks and acts like plastic without the impact .

The squad is foretell it cobwebby paperboard ( tPB ) . The fabric is made completely of cellulose and its typography is equal to that of regular theme . The starting point is using regenerated cellulose from plants and wood ( but not entirely as they have demonstrated ) and create a hydrogel that can be mold and istransparent .

“ This was attain by the simple drying of thick , bulky , and shapable cellulose hydrogel prepared using sedimentary lithium bromide ( LiBr ) solution as the solvent , where cellulose solution solidifies without the initiation of nonsolvents : Cellulose dissolve upon heating and solidifies upon cooling , ” the authors explained in the newspaper .

![four images showing the process. starting with powder or textile cellulose, cellulose solution in a dish, the hydrogel is a white block and finally the paperboard which is transparent. l](https://assets.iflscience.com/assets/articleNo/78756/iImg/83200/Fig 1 A.png)

The process to create the transparent paperboardImage credit: Isobe et al., Sci. Adv. 11, eads2426 (2025)

“ With this physical process , tPB issue as a filmy , three - dimensional duncical stuff made solely from pristine cellulose , capable of taking various forms ranging from mm - thick card to cupful or straw shapes . ”

We ’re indisputable that anyone who has had to portion out withpaper strawsfalling apart over a farsighted drinkable would be felicitous to know that it is possible to make a paper straw that does n’t immediately disintegrate . But still , the textile is biodegradable in a comparatively curt amount of fourth dimension .

The team look at what would happen if the tPB fall into the sea . They compared how quickly it would go away if this plastic fall into shallow water or if it sank into thedeepest abysm . Even at the bottom of the oceans , this option to charge card would disappear in less than a year – anddegradationthere is five to 11 time slower than in coastal regions .

![The tPBtex (“original”), solvent-recycled tPBtex, material-recycled tPBtex, and solvent-material– recycled tPBtex positioned ~10 cm in front of the leaves, shown with the haze values which are respectively 21 percent, 16 percent with recycled sovlent, 54 percent with only the mateiral recycles, and 60 percent in a close loop economy.](https://assets.iflscience.com/assets/articleNo/78756/iImg/83201/Fig 4 A.png)

The recycling process in the lab might alter the transparency, but it seems like a small price to pay.Image credit: Isobe et al., Sci. Adv. 11, eads2426 (2025)

The fact that it is gauzy , biodegradable in a natural surroundings , and credit card - like is already fantastic , but there is more . The researchers have show that boiling water can be poured into a tPB cupful with minimal wetting over the course of three hour . With a sparse resin finishing , no leakage are formed .

These result already are exciting , but the squad want to prove even more . They wanted tPB to be more than just a biodegradable charge plate , so they looked intorecyclability . They found that both the solvent used to bring on it and the tPB itself can be reuse , although it create a charge card that is less guileless . They also showed that it is potential to utilize upcycled materials to make this tPB .

“ Through the utilization of undeveloped cellulose wastefulness such as worn textile , permissive waste papers , and low - economic value wood , tPB can fiddle a pivotal part in the sustainable orbitual economy of the future , ” the authors write .

The field is publish in the journalScience Advances .