Japanese Scientists Develop Ocean Safe Plastic That Dissolves in Saltwater
Everyone has an opinion about plastic. Whether you love it or hate it, it’s a part of everyday life. Now, a new plastic has been invented that dissolves in saltwater in just two to three hours and it may be a gamechanger for many.
Over the last century and a half, plastics have become an essential part of modern life. Plastic is a necessary component of cellphones, are used in the medical industry, and the automotive industry, according to the Science History Institute. But there is a downside too.
Plastics are extremely hard to recycle and most of it ends up in landfills or in oceans where it lasts forever. But that can change. Researchers in Japan from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo have developed a plastic that could be a potential solution to the problem of plastic pollution.
About the New Material
With plastic pollution set to triple by 2040, this discovery is already getting a lot of attention, reported Reuters, especially from the packaging industry. According to the project lead Takuzo Aida, the new material is as strong as fossil fuel-based plastics because it was made by combining two iconic monomers, but it easily breaks down when exposed to salt.
The components can also be processed by bacteria that is naturally occurring to avoid creating microplastics that end up in the food chain.
The new discovery can be used like other plastics when coated and is non-toxic, non-flammable, and doesn’t emit any carbon dioxide, making it a big win for the planet. This innovation was announced ahead of World Environment Day.
“Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with [the] best possible environment,” Aida told Reuters during a laboratory demonstration in Wako, a Japanese city that is near Tokyo.
Other Innovative Solutions
The Japanese team is one of many that are working on new solutions to the issue of plastic waste, reported The Independent.
In 2022, an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic wrap was developed by scientist from Rutgers University, in partnership with Harvard University. They created an antimicrobial spray-on coating for produce that is biodegradable and could potentially replace plastic bags.
Scientists in Switzerland developed a new plastic-like material that is biodegradable and edible. That’s because it is made from the roots of mycelium mushrooms, according to a press release from Empa. The process, which does not kill the mushroom cells leaves a gel-like material called living fiber dispersions (LFD) which can be molded into other forms.
“The fungus uses this extracellular matrix to give itself structure and other functional properties,” materials scientist Ashutosh Sinha, from Empa said in the press release. “Why shouldn’t we do the same?”
It may take many innovative plastic replacements , and improvements to plastic recycling, to reduce the environmental threat of plastic waste. But these products can be small steps to finding big solutions.
