Finally-APlastic Product Biodegradable in the Sea

With this new product, the added salt of the sea water breaks down the connectors in the plastic item. Apparently it also works in soil though it takes at least 10 days to completely break down in placed in this medium.

This new concept was published in the journal ‘Science’ on November 22, 2024 and was created by researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science.

While it is a difficult concept to grasp, this kind of plastic creates products that are durable but the process reverses when exposed to saltwater. It is known as a supra molecular plastic.

No longer will there be micro-plastic pieces in the ocean to deal with nor will unsuspecting organisms eat the product in their quest for food. Of course, we still have to deal with what already exists which is considerable.

Our friends the bacteria that exist everywhere have a bearing on this since they can digest the material created by the breakdown sea salt encourages. The disintegration takes only a few hours.

It also turns out, this product is not toxic and cannot be burned. The less CO2 the better. It can be reformed at high temperatures like other plastics so could be reused as well. Now that is what I call recycling.

And as mentioned in regards to soil breakdown, it does take longer here but when it is done, offers up phosphorous and nitrogen. Imagine, this is similar to fertilizers and as mentioned, is non toxic.

As a gardener, I would like to see how effective that might be with real plants and the growth we have learned to expect in that kind of medium. Until that story is well defined, I am not thinking this is a substitute for fertilizer.