In an innovative step towards sustainability, two young Argentinians created biodegradable plastic based on citrus peels.
The material completely disintegrates within a period of 15 to 30 days after being buried, without leaving harmful residues.
ValentÃn Fravoli (23) and Alejandro Unchalo (22), from Tandil, started this project during their last year at Technical School No. 2 “Felipe Senillosa”.
What started as a school idea transformed into Citricplas, a company dedicated to the manufacture of biodegradable plastic from citrus waste.
The production process involves the collection of citrus peels, which are then hand-processed to obtain a resin. This resin is molded into sheets that are transformed into biodegradable bags.
Once used, these bags decompose in the soil thanks to the action of microorganisms, providing nutrients to the ecosystem.
The material created with citrus peels. (Photo: Instagram- Citricplas).
Alejandro emerges as a natural entrepreneur since, according to local media, he owns a bakery and a grocery store. ValentÃn, who studies Environmental Diagnosis and Management, transformed his outdoor barbecue area into a laboratory.
Now, with the project underway, both dream of expanding, raising awareness about environmental care, and producing on a large scale.
When and how Citricplas bags will be used
Although they initially thought about producing bags for supermarkets, the entrepreneurs decided to focus on the agro-industrial sector.
The goal is to offer a sustainable alternative for the transportation of seeds and other agricultural products, which at the end of their life cycle disintegrate without leaving an environmental footprint.
Citricplas not only represents an ecological solution but also an opportunity to reduce dependence on conventional plastics in the agricultural industry.
Biodegradable plastic exists: Japan’s innovation
A similar invention was revealed in Japan at the end of 2024. A team of scientists created what seemed impossible: 100% biodegradable plastic. This is a material that completely decomposes in the sea within a few hours.
Additionally, it is as resistant as conventional plastics. The still experimental results are published in the magazine Science. It is expected to help reduce the harmful contamination by microplastics on the planet.
“With this new material, we have created a new family of plastics that are strong, stable, recyclable, can serve multiple functions, and, most importantly, do not generate microplastics,” summarizes Takuzo Aida, project leader.
Although there are recyclable and biodegradable plastics, the problem largely persists and, over the years, breaks down into harmful microplastics (pieces less than 5 millimeters).
As a result, these “damage aquatic life and enter the food chain, and also the human body,” recalls a statement from Riken.
Plastic pollution.
Biodegradable plastics like current ones (such as PLA) often end up in the ocean, where they cannot degrade because they are insoluble in water.
In the new work, Aida and his team focused on solving these difficulties with supramolecular plastics: polymers whose structures are held together by reversible interactions.
