China’s New Invention Could Replace Plastic Forever

中国全新发明有望永久替代塑料

In October 2025, researchers at Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, China, led by Hai Wu and Dawei Zhao and working with Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, published a paper in Nature Communications that stopped the engineering world in its tracks. They claimed to have created a new material called BM plastic—bamboo molecular plastic—made 100 percent from bamboo cellulose, with no petroleum-based additives. The material is stronger than conventional plastic, handles pulling forces of 110 megapascals, resists bending at 6.41 gigapascals, survives temperatures above 180 degrees Celsius, and completely biodegrades in plain soil within about 50 days. Even more remarkably, when recycled through the same zinc chloride and formic acid process, the material retains roughly 90 percent of its original strength, unlike regular plastic which degrades with each recycling cycle.

2025年10月，位于中国哈尔滨的东北林业大学吴海平、赵大伟带领研究团队，联合沈阳化工大学的科研人员，在《自然·通讯》期刊发表了一篇震惊整个工程领域的论文。研究团队称研发出一种名为BM塑料（竹基分子塑料）的新型材料，该材料由竹纤维素百分之百制成，不添加任何石油基辅料。

这种材料强度高于常规塑料，抗拉强度达到110兆帕，抗弯模量为6.41吉帕，可承受180摄氏度以上高温，在普通土壤中大约50天即可完全生物降解。更为出众的是，通过氯化锌和甲酸这套工艺回收再造后，材料仍能保留约90%的原始强度，反观普通塑料每一次回收循环都会出现性能损耗。

The breakthrough matters because every previous bioplastic alternative—PLA from corn starch, PHA from bacteria, starch-based plastics, cellulose acetate—failed to combine strength, biodegradability, and low cost in a single material. BM plastic works with exsting injection molding machines, can be cut and drilled with standard tools, and the manufacturing process runs at room temperature, saving enormous energy costs. China already has the world's largest bamboo resources, with over 7.5 million hectares of bamboo forest across 20 provinces, supporting an industry worth 320 billion yuan annually and 7.5 million farmers. The chinese has been preparing for this shift with a 2022 plan to replace plastic with bamboo and a 2023 three-year action plan, with real products like bamboo fiber tableware, bamboo pipes, and even a bamboo drone already in development.

这项突破性成果意义非凡。此前所有生物塑料替代产品，包括玉米淀粉提炼的聚乳酸（PLA）、微生物合成的聚羟基烷酸酯（PHA）、淀粉基塑料、醋酸纤维素等，都无法在单一材料上同时兼顾高强度、生物可降解性与低成本三大特性。

竹基分子塑料可直接适配现有注塑设备，使用普通工具就能切割、钻孔，而且生产全过程在室温环境下完成，极大降低能源消耗成本。

中国坐拥全球体量最大的竹林资源，20个省份竹林总面积超过750万公顷，竹产业年产值3200亿元，覆盖750万竹农群体。中国早已为这场塑料替代变革做好规划，2022年推出以竹代塑实施方案，2023年发布三年专项行动方案，竹纤维餐具、竹制管道甚至竹材无人机等实体产品都已进入研发阶段。

The estimated production cost of 2,300 dollars per ton is nearly double the 1,200 dollars for conventional plastic, but factoring in pollution cleanup, microplastic health costs, and potential government fines, the real cost of traditional plastic could reach 2,400 dollars per ton by 2040. Challenges remain—the material is rigid rather than flexble, long-term durability before disposal needs work, and scaling from lab to millions of tons is a massive undertaking—but no bioplastic has ever combined this level of performance, sustainability, recyclability, and manufacturing readiness in one package.

该材料预估生产成本为每吨2300美元，近乎传统塑料每吨1200美元成本的两倍。不过如果把污染治理开支、微塑料引发的健康损失以及可能产生的政府环保罚款一并核算，到2040年传统塑料的综合实际成本或将达到每吨2400美元。

现阶段该技术仍存在不少挑战：材料刚性较强、柔韧性欠缺，使用周期内的长期耐久性能仍需改良，从实验室样品扩产到数百万吨级大规模生产更是一项庞大工程。但在所有生物塑料品类中，还没有任何一款产品能同时兼备如此优异的使用性能、环境可持续性、循环再生能力以及落地量产的成熟条件。

 

以下是各国网友的评论：

stellacheng6023
bamboo is God's gift to the Chinese.

竹子简直是上天馈赠给中国人的宝藏。

 

ongKinLan
It's the fifth Great invention after paper , printing compass n gunpowder by China to change the world, n save the planet This Time!! "Bravo China!!!

这算得上中国继造纸术、印刷术、指南针、火药四大发明之后的第五大发明。这次它能改变世界、拯救地球！中国太厉害了！

 

HJosephInsight
This is far more interesting than the usual “China invented a better plastic” headline. If bamboo cellulose can genuinely deliver ~110 MPa strength, tolerate 180°C+, biodegrade in soil and be repeatedly recycled without a petroleum-derived polymer matrix, the bigger story is what happens upstream.

Plastics are one of the enormous demand channels connecting everyday products to the petrochemical industry. Replace even part of that chain with renewable cellulose and you’re not just changing packaging, you’re changing feedstock economics. The laboratory science looks real.

The question worth watching is whether China can industrialize it cheaply enough to make petroleum-based plastics economically obsolete in certain applications.

这可比那种千篇一律的“中国研发出新型塑料”新闻标题有分量多了。如果竹纤维素材料真的能实现110兆帕左右的强度、耐受180摄氏度以上高温、在土壤里自然降解，并且不需要石油聚合物基底就能多次回收，那真正影响深远的是产业链上游。

塑料是日用商品绑定石化行业的一大核心消耗渠道。哪怕只用可再生竹纤维素替代这条产业链的一小部分，改变的也不只是包装用品，而是原材料的整个经济体系。实验室得出的数据和原理看起来十分靠谱。

接下来最值得关注的一点是：中国能否把这项技术低成本规模化量产，让石油塑料在部分使用场景里失去价格竞争力，逐步被淘汰。

 

Trueye-sl2mr
China is solving global problems

中国正在解决全人类面临的难题。

 

ntlee8801
Great news!! Hope they will use this bamboo plastic in place of the old plastic. Bravo China and the teams

好消息！希望能用这种竹基塑料全面替换传统塑料。为中国和研发团队点赞！

 

nickbadabing
AND HOW MUCH MONEY IS THE COST DIFFERENCE? DID YOU STOP TO ASK THAT QUESTION??? DUH

成本差价到底有多大？就没人关心这个问题吗？拜托动动脑子。

 

odfredTong-y3f
China is making RENEWABLE ENERGY (wind, SOLAR) economically viable to the world, if China can also make alternative economical cement, bamboo biodegradable/renewable modified plastics , these are major innovations that the earth needs the reduce the detrimental effects of global warming !

中国已经让风能、太阳能这类可再生能源在全球实现商业化落地。如果还能研发出性价比更高的替代水泥、竹制可降解可再生改性塑料，这些都是地球急需的重大创新，能有效缓解全球变暖带来的恶劣影响。

 

davidbeare730
I know bamboo can replace a lot of wood products and that is a very good start. I also like the Idea that massive production of bamboo may be a part of a strategy to reduce CO-2.

我知道竹子可以替代很多木制品，这已经是很好的开端了。大规模种植竹子或许还能作为减少二氧化碳排放的一种手段，这个思路很棒。

 

tonylee6695
Chinese contribution to Humanity

中国人为全人类做出的贡献。

 

dougsheldon5560
Finally, a new career. Watching bamboo grow.

这下多了个新职业：专门看竹子生长。

 

catrojana3694
One metre a day so you probably could've really seen the spurts of growth there

一天能长一米，肉眼都能看到它蹭蹭往上窜。

 

alihms
I highly doubt it grows 1m per day. Exaggeration? Bamboo grows fast, but not that fast.
The video also stated that it took 3 years before a bamboo tree is suitable for harvest. By that time, it would have grown 1km high!

我非常怀疑竹子一天能长一米，是不是夸大了？竹子长得快，但也没这么夸张。

还说竹子要长三年才能采伐，照一天一米算，三年都能长到一千米高了。

 

moonbox3381
great news , I hope it coming mass production soon

太棒了，希望这项材料早日实现大规模量产。

 

taytk8005
Australia & UK & Israel & Japan & The Philippines Will Be Instructed & Dictated By The USA To The Import & Use The Chinese Invention Of BAMBOO Plastic ( Blastic) As It Will Be A Threat To Their Internal Securities

澳大利亚、英国、以色列、日本、菲律宾这些国家，大概率会在美国的施压下，抵触进口和使用这款中国发明的竹基塑料，美方会觉得这项技术威胁到他们自身的安全利益。

 

gb2859
Plastic is a beautifull product. Politics has to set up collecting and recycling facilities or thermal revalorisation plants. Also the consummers must act more diligently by not throwing away plastics in nature.

塑料本身是很好的产品。关键在于政府要搭建完善的回收体系和热能再利用处理工厂，同时消费者也要自觉，不要随意把塑料丢弃到自然环境中。

 

dwightrabideau5269
Plastic can be made back into fuel. Just add water and heat. We just don't do it. They want to get away from gasoline.

塑料加水加热就能转化成燃料，只是大家不愿意这么做罢了，很多势力就是想牢牢把控汽油产业链。

 

oswaldjh
One of the craziest uses for bamboo in in building scaffolding held together by rope.
Watched a video where the work crew were building the scaffolding up the side of a 10 story structure.

竹子有个很厉害的用途，就是用绳索捆绑搭建建筑脚手架。我看过一个视频，工人在十层高的楼房外侧搭设竹制脚手架。

 

lylek8933
Don't park your BM Plastic car in the back yard, then. lol

那可别把用BM塑料造的车停在后院放着（怕降解），哈哈。

 

alanbgtan
This is definitely a 'crime' committed by plastic inventor without thinking forward for humanity. I would have thought that when you invent or create something, you need to know how to 'untangle' or de-construct or recycle it completely. Whatever the next items to be used, I hope it can be reversed & will not be detriment to human health

当初发明塑料的人完全没有考虑长远的环境问题，算得上一大疏漏。在研发一种新材料时，本就该想好如何拆解、完整回收。不管未来用什么替代塑料，都希望它可以自然降解，不会危害人体健康。

 

A-mo7mw
Really? Great invention!

真的吗？太厉害的发明了！

 

waltbroedner4754
Next they have to find out what molicular part of bamboo is the part being used and chemically make that portion only.

下一步他们可以研究清楚竹子里起作用的具体分子结构，然后通过化工方式直接合成这部分物质。

 

SlowtravellerDan
Yes, and synthesize these molecules with chemicals from petroleum products.

没错，然后再用石油衍生品去人工合成这些分子。

 

Joh750
If this is such a great discovery, why hasn't industry and investors promoted this supposedly great product and informed the public about getting rid of 100 years of plastic production.?

既然这项发现这么厉害，为什么行业和投资方没有大力推广，告诉大众可以终结上百年的塑料生产模式？

 

georgegates526
Excellent! What decade is this going to be manufactured? Plastic companies are NOT going to give up easy.

太赞了！预计要到哪个年代才能全面投产？塑料行业的企业肯定不会轻易拱手让出市场。

 

caangngungkulanpoek1604
They will not change some things that bring no harms to the living beings, instead kee them in purity

对于那些对生物没有危害的现有材料，他们不会盲目替换，会保留原本的优良属性。

 

Rock-hi5lo
'BM Plastic' sounds tedious... A better name can be 'Blastic'. Its Chinese name can be as simple as '竹料‘.

BM塑料这个名字拗口，可以改成Blastic，中文直接叫竹料就很简洁。

 

Da-Truth-420
While the US finds ways to steal more money and subsidize oil companies China is doing the opposite.

美国忙着敛财、给石油企业砸补贴，中国却在踏踏实实地搞利民环保的技术研发。

 

GrandmaTurtle
Spectacular

中国的技术太惊艳了。

 

laurenceeburn4969
Where are they going to get 430M tonnes of bamboo per year?

每年需要4.3亿吨竹子，这么大的供应量要从哪里来？

 

kd3446
It can survive centuries……

这种材料能留存上百年之久。

 

anthonytruta2745
The cost will cost more than petroleum based products. So will you be willing to pay $2.oo for a bmplastic grocery bag at Walmart?
When prices for everything now is out of control. Most people won't. Most people can't afford to. So many great inventions that are just too expensive

它的生产成本比石油塑料更高。沃尔玛一个BM塑料购物袋要卖2美元，现在物价飞涨，普通人根本不愿意、也负担不起。很多优秀发明都栽在了高昂的造价上。

 

jomo4435
Plastic needs a closed loop, all plastics fitting into a simple manageable list of plastics, lawful, unlawful .... Manufacturing to recycling to manufacturing

塑料行业需要搭建闭环产业链，把所有塑料品类规整分类，规范合规生产，形成“生产—回收—再生产”的完整循环。

 

20Layers
If BM plastic broke down in soil in less than 50 days, does it mean we can't put anything made out of it anywhere near soil?

如果BM塑料埋在土里不到50天就分解了，那是不是意味着用它做的东西都不能靠近泥土摆放？

 

Scammerplayer
There go's more of our eco system what are we going to lose from all the bamboo disappearing what are the long term affects going to be ?

大规模开采竹子会不会破坏生态系统？竹林大量减少会带来哪些长期负面影响？

 

dunckeroo1987
Organic cellophane breaks down, not synthetic cellophane however. The organic cellophane is not conducive to long shelf life when used as packaging but that is a benefit.

天然玻璃纸可以降解，人工合成的却不行。天然玻璃纸做包装没法长时间保鲜，但从环保角度来说这反而是优点。

 

nareshjoshi123
ok bamboo groeing fast whre rain forest is possibale but what about where no rain forest ?

在雨林充沛的地区竹子长势迅猛，那干旱少雨、没有雨林的地方该怎么种植？

 

shadowriter33366
you're so on the point. we're also worry that the world start planting bamboo, clearing forest, etc. rain or no rain, once people see profit, here they go destroying the world. but again, without greed, almost no one will have motivation to work.

你说到点子上了。我们也担心全球为了种竹子大肆砍伐原生森林。不管气候适不适合，一旦有利可图，人类就会大肆破坏自然环境。不过话说回来，如果没有利益驱动，很多人也缺乏做事的动力。

 

dunckeroo1987
Can it be made from industrial hemp.

这种材料能用工业大麻来制作吗？

 

audjreywindover
While I think it's great that a new invention can replace plastic forever - however - let's talk about what we're going to do to clean up the mess we've all created with all this plastic because, honestly, who cares if they replace plastic if they don't recycle or reuse the plastic that is already here. That's just a transfer of profits - it does nothing to help us or this planet.

能永久替代塑料的发明固然值得肯定，但我们更该思考如何清理现存的塑料垃圾。如果旧塑料不回收再利用，就算研发出新材料也只是资本换个方式赚钱，对人类和地球没有实质帮助。

 

Sieger44
But then how BM plastic if easily biodegradable could be durable. Is it a paradox?

既然BM塑料极易生物降解，那它怎么保证使用耐久性呢？这难道不是自相矛盾吗？