Malaysian researchers have been working on sustainable solutions for pineapple waste since 2017, and now they have ultimately landed on an airborne innovation: eco-friendly, biodegradable drone parts made from pineapple leaf fibers. The pineapple leaves—which are usually burned during the annual pineapple harvest—were collected from farmers in the Hulu Langat district by a team at University Putra Malaysia (UPM). The processed, sinewy fibers were used to build the skeleton of their so-named Putra Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the university said in a statement. The Putra UAV is the “first such innovation” on record to use natural fibers from pineapple leaves, plus rechargeable motors, blades, and batteries to support its functionality, according to the statement. UPM’s professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan, the head of the research team, said in the statement that “most drones are currently made of plastic, carbon fiber, and aluminum which are categorized as synthetic fibers.” In test …