Making plastic from renewable resources is no new feat. But for the past six years, scientists at the University of Idaho have been working diligently to tap into one biomass resource that has yet to be exploited in the plastics industry: dairy manure. "Back during my Ph.D. work I had the opportunity to explore this concept of converting organic waste to these biodegradable biological plastics known as polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHA," said Erik Coats, professor of civil engineering at the University of Idaho and lead scientist on the project. "In Idaho, the dairy industry is a very prominent part of the economy, so it was a perfect fit for our bio-plastic research." Unlike most bioplastics, the PHA that Coats creates is sourced from crops that would not otherwise be used as food for humans and livestock.
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