The whole point of a hybrid is to be eco-friendly, so why would the manufacturers lean to more eco-friendly plastics? Of course that is easier said than done; what of the crash safety? There may finally be a breakthrough in the eco-plastics world.

With about 250 pounds (113 kilograms) of plastic in the average car, the auto industry is doing its part to fill the world’s trash heaps. When that average car outlives its usefulness, all that fossil-fuel-based plastic ends up in one of two places: either recycled into other plastic parts, releasing tons of carbon dioxide in the process, or spending anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand years in the average landfill, where it proceeds to take up space and leach harmful chemicals into the air, soil and water supply.