Biodegradable bark–plastic composite lets engineers predict product lifetime from tensile tests

Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A "green composite" made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a research team at Tohoku University. When assessing the material, they found that simply testing its mechanical strength—in this case, its tensile strength or ability to resist pulling—could reliably predict the biodegradation process.

source https://phys.org/news/2026-01-biodegradable-barkplastic-composite-product-lifetime.html