Could sperm be the answer to solve our plastic problem?

A team of Chinese scientists have created an eco-friendly plastic made from salmon sperm

Single-use plastics are causing problematic issues for the environment and scientists around the world have been researching alternatives to help combat the world’s climate crisis, by tackling the plastic problem.

Dayong Yang and his team at Tianjin University wanted to create a material that solved these problems.

Strands of DNA from salmon sperm have been combined with a chemical from vegetable oil to create the substance known as hydrogel.

The hydrogel can form different shapes and freeze-dried to remove the moisture, which makes it solidify.

Researchers have already created a cup, puzzle pieces and a DNA molecule from the eco-friendly plastic

According to the team, the creation of DNA-based plastic produces 97 per cent fewer carbon emissions than polystyrene plastics.

Although, as reported in Euronews.green, the new material does have limitations.

It can be recycled using water alone, meaning that it needs to be kept dry.

Waterproof coatings could be added, but this would make it harder to recycle.

Therefore, researchers believe this could be more beneficial for electrical items that need to be dry and other forms of packaging