Malaysian Researchers Turn Pineapple Leaves Into Strong, Lightweight, Biodegradable Drones A fiber extracted from waste products produced in pineapple farming could be key to sustainable, environmentally-friendly drones. A team of researchers in Malaysia is turning waste products of the pineapple industry into a bio-composite material strong enough to create parts for drones which are stronger, cheaper, and easier to dispose of than their existing counterparts. "We are transforming the leaf of the pineapple into a fiber that can be used for aerospace application," project lead Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan of Malaysia's Putra University explained in a workshop attended by Reuters, "basically inventing a drone."