Cacti are versatile plants, and while some serve as ornamental plants or natural barriers, others are quite tasty, and a few produce psychoactive agents, such as mescaline.

Thanks to one scientist, we can add another use for the prickly plant—an alternative to plastic.

Sandra Pascoe Ortiz from the University of the Valley of Atemajac in Mexico has developed a process that converts the prickly pear cactus into a non-toxic, biodegradable plastic, one that’s less harmful to the environment. According to Pascoe Ortiz, if the cactus-plastic material ends up in the ocean, the most likely outcome would be that an animal eats it without harm. If a fish doesn’t eat it, Pascoe Ortiz’s material completely degrades in a few days when submerged in water.