Imagine removing billions of tons of plastics made from petroleum products from both over-taxed waste streams and costly recycling processes. What if the plastic shopping bags we use or plastic tops covering drinks were biodegradable? Dr. James Nakas and his colleagues, Dr. Stuart Tanenbaum and Dr. Thomas Keenan at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, in Syracuse New York are actively researching this question. Their new generation of biopolymer plastics represents an attractive alternative to plastics derived from fossil fuels during a time of rising crude oil prices, waste management problems and continued global pollution.