Researchers at Oregon State have concocted a way to insert cellulosic plant material into tires, thereby cutting down the amount of dirty carbon black needed to make tires, according to Candace Lombardi, who blogs for News.com.

"The rubber composite contains microcrystalline cellulose as an additive, a material that can be made from a wide variety of plant materials, instead of the usual carbon black or silica typically used," Lombardi-Trophy writes. "But aside from the manufacturing benefits, the researchers found that the cellulosic rubber tires had better traction on wet surfaces and were less affected by heat compared to conventional tires."

It's still in the experimental stage and could stay there for a while because of concerns about costs and safety. Bioplastics for forks and cell phones are only gaining momentum now and the health and safety risks for plastic cutlery ("Three Maimed in Picnic Tragedy") are far lower.

Still, it holds promise. It might even someday be able to combined with the rubber recycling pursued by Lehigh Technologies. Lehigh grinds up rubber into particles (in a system adopted from the pharma industry) and reconstitutes it into tires or other items. Approximately 300 million tires get tossed out every year in America and each tire contains about 10 gallons of oil, according to Patrick George, Lehigh's CFO. That comes to 3 billion gallons.