Hasta La Ideas

As we recently learned, much of our planet’s supply of drinking water is infested with plastic microfibers. Single-use plastic items like shopping bags and drinking straws are some of the culprits.

To combat the impact of discarded plastic bags on the environment, an Indonesian company called Avani has created a single-use bag you’d swear was plastic—but which is in fact made of Cassava (Yucca), an edible root.

These Bio-Cassava Bags contain zero actual plastic and are made from Cassava starch using a proprietary process. Being 100% bio-based, the bags will break down in a matter of months but, should they find their way into a waterway before then, they’re completely safe for animals to consumer, unlike plastic.

Here Cassava founder Kevin Kamala puts his money where his mouth is, literally, by dissolving one of the company’s bags in water and drinking it:

The current barrier to mass uptake is that the production process makes Bio-Cassava bags cost twice as much as regular plastic bags. With any luck Avani will be able to draw the interest of additional materials scientists and production experts who can figure out a way to bring the cost down.