Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife.
While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center 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 lab in Wako city in Saitama Prefecture, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour.
While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialization, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector.
Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day on June 5.
Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the U.N. Environment Program has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tons 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 that we leave them with best possible environment," Aida said.
Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain.
As salt is also present in soil, a piece about five centimeters in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours, he added.
The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide, he added.
© Thomson Reuters 2025
29 Comments
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Yubaru
Hopefully by the time it gets into the market it will be as cheap as the current plastics being used.
JeffLee
Yes, scientists are. Too bad the corporate producers are not.
Ricky Kaminski13
This is the way!
David Brent
In a country which wraps bananas and oranges in plastic wrap, something like this is sorely needed.
dbsaiya
Money and time well spent, much better than JAXA and their failed moon missions.
Nifty
This might be really good, but if it breaks down into its original components, and if it isn't broken down further by bacteria, which seems likely, you would basically be adding oil to the sea? I hope they plan this carefully to prrvent that.
Jtsnose
. . . it looks like a beautiful development in solving the Earth's Ocean pollution problems . . . .
obladi
It looks like a great discovery. I just don't see the words "non-toxic" anywhere. Surely our bodies will absorb some of the molecules used to make the solid plastic. The question is, "are these molecules safe?"
WoodyLee
Well done and Congrats.
The Real solution is to ELIMATE the use of Plastic Bags which is happening slowly and Surly.
WoodyLee
Scammers and Thieves in the retail industry like supermarkets are making tons of money selling plastic bags at 3, 5 & 7 yen / bag when it costs a fraction of that price. Most bags are Made in China like most of their items and it costs about 50USD or less per 10,000 pieces.
Instead they should be lending baskets with a deposit to be refunded when returned.
masugomi
This is Nobel Prize stuff
Meiyouwenti
“I just don't see the words "non-toxic" anywhere.”
You just didn’t see. Read carefully.
“The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide
Jimizo
Very promising. Hope mass production of this is feasible and can move forward.
Cephus
That's what science should be about solving real existing, persisting problems.
TokyoLiving
VERY WELL DONE JAPAN, MOVING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE!!..
Sorry for the haters, LOL..
ian
Haha
ian
Seems unrealistic.
But it doesn't have to be as cheap
ian
Hope they fast track development surely funding now won't be difficult to come by
Hideyoshi.N
This is great development, good job.
ian
seems article also mentioned that
Desert Tortoise
Wonder how practical it is for things like the kids toy trucks or back yard play sets that sit outdoors in the sun and rain. Watch the kid's toys biodegrade after a week to ten days outside.
We use compostable bags made from potato and corn starch to dispose of our pet and food waste.
The_Beagle
I guess they won't be using it to bottle any electrolyte drinks anytime soon.
Mr Kipling
This is an absolute disaster for those of us who like to fill up our sandcastle moats by collecting sea water in a plastic bag.
daito_hak
No this is not. The chemistry to achieve this are well understood. The problem has been to develop a compound that can be industrialized at large scale and at acceptable cost. RIKEN and The University of Tokyo are not the only labs having this kind of rapidly degradable plastic working in labs in controlled experiments.
Jimizo
Yes. Not to denigrate the work of the scientists but the question of it being feasible for mass production is a major issue.
If not, I don’t know if there are any particular applications of this which would make it worthwhile to produce on a smaller scale.
ian
Yes they probably won't be using it in general anytime soon but it can be used like regular plastic
Agent_Neo
Even the Mariana Trench is littered with plastic waste, so I hope this technology is introduced soon.
HighLama
Congratulations and thanks to Aida san and his team of brilliant minds at RIKEN.
Tony W.
A clear reason why it is non-toxic should be stated, because if is any sort of new plastic, it will arouse suspicion. In any case, why not revert to glass., tin, paper etc. Even in clothing, a new fabric is available from the bark of a particular tree, so search in the forestery industry!