There was a short traumatic period in our youth where our brain was damaged by the green-haired mullet man of doom named Captain Planet. We never really understood why the dumb kids with the overpowered elemental rings needed to summon him. They could’ve gotten out of so many situations with just the use of their powers. All that and the fact that the show just went on and on about how bad plastic is. Well, it is bad, but still... coming from that weird blue-skinned, green-haired dude?

Well, Scientists at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry may figure out a way to make plastic acceptable to Captain Planet and his meddling kids. The Scientists plan to fuse wood fiber to plastic to make it not only stronger but also allow it to degrade in a landfill.

The process focuses on extracting nanocrystals of cellulose out of woody materials, like trees and willow shrubs and mixing them with the plastic.

Apparently by adding an ounce of crystals to a pound of plastic, you can increase the strength of the plastic by a factor of 3,000. The cellulosic nanocrystals can also be used in ceramics and in biomedical applications such as artificial joints and disposable medical equipment.

They're currently working on refining the surface of the crystals so they adhere better to the plastic and disbursing the crystals throughout the material to achieve the best results. The scientists say that the next step would be to scale the process up to a commercial level.