New plastic dissolves in the ocean overnight, leaving no microplastics – Scientists in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that’s just as stable in everyday use but dissolves quickly in saltwater, leaving behind safe compounds.

New plastic dissolves in the ocean overnight, leaving no microplastics

Plastics are durable and strong, which is great while they’re being used but frustrating when they end up in the environment. Scientists at RIKEN in Japan have developed a new type of plastic that’s just as stable in everyday use but dissolves quickly in saltwater, leaving behind safe compounds.

The benefit of plastics is that they’re made with strong covalent bonds that hold their molecules together, meaning they take a lot of energy to break. This is why they’re so sturdy, long-lasting and perfect for everything from packaging to toys.

In practice, the team found that the material was just as strong as normal plastic during use, and was non-flammable, colorless and transparent. Immersed in saltwater though, the plastic completely dissolved in about eight and a half hours.

While some biodegradable plastics can still leave behind harmful microplastics, this material breaks down into nitrogen and phosphorus, which are useful nutrients for plants and microbes. That said, too much of these can be disruptive to the environment as well, so the team suggests the best process might be to do the bulk of the recycling in specialized plants, where the resulting elements can be retrieved for future use.

I guess I’ll never hear about it again like every other innovation that’s good for the environment.

What a relief, I’ve been waiting to hear a breakthrough in plastics for so long. I hope AI was used to reach this compound

In other news, Japanese scientists found unalived by apparent suicide. No oil execs were involved.

20 years later, “Turns out this is toxic and everyone now has super cancer. Sorry”