The U.S. Department of Defense is looking for an entrepreneur to create animal-edible, biodegradable bullets that can be filled with seeds to help cut down on firearm debris and actually help the environment at training facilities.
The department cites several reasons this would prove helpful, including environmental enhancement and safety. Regular bullets rust and pollute not only soil but groundwater. In high concentration, such as a military training area they could also cause problems for a farmer tilling the soil in the future.
The pollutant issue may seem small when measured by the shot, but it builds up, reports Popular Mechanics. So the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory has created and tested seeds for a biodegradable composite, engineering them to sprout months after being embedded in the ground. They also clarified that the word “bullet” applies to 40mm rounds that are more like grenades and the 120mm rounds that are used by tanks. Once a biodegradable version of these bullets have been designed a prototype will be made and a way for them to be mass-manufactured determined.
The U.S.D.D. emphasized that the biodegradable bullets are only meant for training, not combat, and say animals should be able to eat them without suffering any ill consequences.
VIDEO: Army’s New Push: Edible Ammo That Grows Plants