This startup is turning fallen leaves into biodegradable plastic

Perennial Polymers is turning urban leaf waste into biodegradable plastic without using food crops.

[Photos: Perennial Polymers, Daniel Bernard/Unsplash]

First-generation bioplastics were made from food crops like corn and sugar. A new biomaterials startup is using something very different: the autumn leaves collected by cities each fall.

The startup, Perennial Polymers, extracts the natural polymers in leaves—lignin and cellulose—to make plastic that can easily break down. It’s an approach that can ultimately be less expensive than making other bioplastics, the company says.

“I spent the last 12 years or so in the biomaterial space, and got to see from the inside how challenging it is, largely due to the economics,” says Nathan Noyes, founder of Perennial Polymers. “Two of the main reasons for that seemed to be that we were always relying on food-grade agricultural feedstock when moving away........

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