Every year, Europe alone releases into the environment the microplastic equivalent of 10bn plastic bottles. Much of this ends up in the ocean, where they are ingested by marine life, blocking digestion and affecting nutrition as they work their way up the food chain. Xampla (a spin out from the University of Cambridge) has created the world’s first plant protein replacement for plastic for commercial use and their next generation material performs like synthetic polymers but decomposes naturally and fully, without harming the environment.