The Daily Populous Friday June 13rd, 2025 evening edition
Authored by bbc.co.uk and submitted by Regular_Eggplant_248

The new plastic was co-developed by the University of Tokyo in Japan and the country's RIKEN Centre for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS).

Researchers say it is made by combining two small molecules which form a strong bond that allows the new material to stay tough and flexible.

While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, the team say their invention breaks down much more quickly and leaves no trace.

When placed in a mixture which had the same amount of salt as seawater, they found the new plastic dissolved "quickly in about two to three hours, depending on its thickness and size."

And it's not just in water where the new plastic can dissolve.

Takuzo Aida, lead researcher at CEMS, explained: "Similarly, when tested in soil..a piece of plastic about 5 centimetres in size, it completely disappears after a little over 200 hours."

Loud-Ad-2280 on June 13rd, 2025 at 12:31 UTC »

You thought you had enough microplastics?!?

DrMelbourne on June 13rd, 2025 at 12:28 UTC »

I smell much bigger hidden issues with this one

Antarcaticaschwea on June 13rd, 2025 at 12:26 UTC »

Uhhh does it just dissolve into microplastics or like better compounds ?