When thinking about wood as a raw material, things like paper and cardboard come to mind. As it turns out, that only scratches the surface of the potential for the trusted substrate. Thanks to modern techniques, the uses for wood pulp isn’t limited to just paper but used to create alternatives to plastic.
The magic lies in the compound cellulose, an organic material that plants such as trees have in spades. It's the most plentiful of organic compounds on Earth, and the polysaccharide is the principal component of plant cell walls. It makes up some 33% of vegetable and plant fiber, and that's why someone might tell you that their asparagus tastes a little wooden. Cotton is the purest form of cellulose, and you can use it to make paper and even food additives, as cellulose powder gets used to thicken, emulsify, and stabilize processed foods. Cellulose is naturally biodegradable, and you can harvest it sustainably with proper tree management.
Not all cellulose-based plastics are necessarily biodegradable, and some are only industrially compostable, but researchers have found ways to design wood cellulose-based plastic alternatives free from such drawbacks. Scientists and engineers have a variety of techniques at their disposal to transform cellulose derived from trees and waste wood pulp.
When broken down into nanoparticles, cellulose-based materials can get formed into materials that are both water and air-resistant, but also in varying thickness and hardness so that they can withstand heat while being compostable. Applications for cellulose nanofibers include food bags, film, and even netted bags.
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