Biodegradable plastic has been a thing since the late 70's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_plastic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_pla

Biodegradable plastic has been a thing since the late 70's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_plastic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable_plastic My dad once showed me transparent cellulose-based plastic envelopes you could eat. They didn't taste like anything but were totally non-toxic. That was in the 80's.