Jalisco, Mexico - Four young scientists in Jalisco have created a biomaterial that is environmentally friendly and could revolutionize the packing industry, the El Heraldo newspaper recently reported.

The material is called 'biocel,' and it is a substitute for unicel, with the same characteristics of expanded polystyrene. It is resistant to impact and has fire insulation properties, but with a faster capacity to degrade than traditional styrofoam.

While unicel takes 500 years to degrade, biocel's degradation process is natural and it takes just 25 to 30 days under conditions of erosion, water or the sun.

The biomaterial was created by architects and designers from Radial Startup, which has a biotechnological foundation and an environmental approach. The experts based their work on the metabolism of fungi, using agri-industrial wastes as the raw material, the newspaper article added.

"We are developing these products so that in the future television sets, computers, refrigerators, and alllkinds of electronics, can be packed for shipping in this kind of biomaterial, said Radial Cofounder Rodrigo Muttio.

For now, biocel can only be used for packing; however, the creators of the product are studying ways to use it to make to-go containers, plates, and eating utensils.