Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours
WAKO, Japan: Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering a potential solution to a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife.
While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the Riken Centre for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace.
At a laboratory in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after being stirred for about an hour.
Although the team has yet to announce any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from the packaging sector.
Scientists around the world are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day, taking place on 5 June.
Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23–37 million metric tonnes of waste into the world's oceans each year.
"Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure we leave them with the best possible environment," Aida said.
Aida explained that the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. These components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, avoiding the creation of microplastics that harm aquatic life and enter the food chain. As salt is also present in soil, a piece around five centimetres (two inches) in size disintegrates on land after just over 200 hours, he added.
The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are currently focusing their research on the most effective coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide, he added.
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