Photo by Alan Kim | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech researcher Justin Barone works Friday on a process for recycling discarded poultry feathers into plasitcs.

The conversion takes place almost instantly. In goes a powdery heap of pulverized poultry feathers, out comes a ticker-tape-size strip of translucent plastic.

"We're basically borrowing from biology here," said Virginia Tech researcher Justin Barone, describing the system by which his lab turns ground-up feathers and discarded eggs into biodegradable plastics.

Three years ago, Barone discovered the technique and is now working on other ways to turn poultry byproducts into eco-friendly materials that won't end up in the landfill.

Breakthroughs along these lines could not only benefit poultry producers whose farms puff out feathers by the trailer load each day, but may also provide an alternative to pricier petroleum-based plastics.

Using protein blends found in feathers and eggs, Barone heats up the minced remnants thrown away by large poultry producers, such as Tyson Foods, and pressurizes them into plastics that are designed to disintegrate months after they're used. The technique is cheaper and uses less energy than manufacturing petroleum-based plastics because the biological proteins can be broken down at lower temperatures, Barone said.

"Biofuels get a lot of the attention," said Barone, an ardent environmentalist who doesn't even own a car. "But there is a better way to do things. You don't need to use petroleum at all."

Biodegradable plastics are already being made out of corn, soybean and wheat and have been for years, Barone said, but their visibility in the marketplace is often eclipsed by their use in biofuels. Animal proteins are more resilient and easier to separate, making them cheap to use in the manufacturing process. Plus, Barone said, the pulverized feathers only cost about 7 cents a pound.

"It shows that there is a potential to create something useful from a byproduct you would have never thought of before," said Spencer Neale, a commodities expert with the Virginia Farm Bureau. Already one power plant in Minnesota is making electricity by burning poultry litter, a combination of droppings, wood chips, seed hulls and feathers, he said.

Meanwhile, adding value to the feathers and discarded egg waste could be a boon for local poultry growers.

James Mason, president and general manager of Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative near Harrisonburg, said the plant dresses close to 125,000 male turkeys a week and must cart off the waste in several trailer loads. In some cases, they have to pay to have it hauled off. In others, the plant barely breaks even, he said. "We get nothing," Mason said. And most of the leftover feathers are turned into "feather meal" -- cooked feathers that are used in feed for animals.

So far, Barone's research has yet to cross over into a commercial product. "There is a leap of faith that has to be made," on the part of a company willing to mass-produce the bio-based plastics, he said.

That could take the form of a new enterprise seeking to capitalize on this novel product, Spencer said. Or an established company looking to replace the cost of buying petroleum chemicals.

Barone is working with the horticulture industry, where his biodegradable plastics could be designed for short-term uses such as plant containers or mulching film.

But he also envisions broader uses for his research -- plastic bags, adhesives or containers to grow living cells.

"It's not a stretch," he said about the cells. "The body is made up of proteins."

For now, Barone's research team is sticking to glues. Along one wall of his lab are examples of his latest prototypes -- rows of green dishes, each coated with a thin layer of peeling film.

Barone stood nearby and thought about the possibilities -- "two pieces glued together by a material as tough and lightweight as your hair," he said.