The perfect plastic? Plant-based, fully saltwater degradable, zero microplastics
www.eurekalert.org
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have one-upped themselves in their quest to solve our microplastic problem. They report a new plant-based plastic made from cellulose, the world’s most abundant organic compound. The new plastic is strong, flexible, and capable of rapid decomposition in natural environments, setting it apart from other plastics marketed as biodegradable.
  • yesman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    If this is feasible, the use of environmentally friendly plastic will become politically divisive.

  • zabadoh@ani.socialEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    Stories like this pop up all the time “Bugs eat plastics” “Plastics turned back into fuel” “Plastics reused into new objects”

    None of it turns into any real solutions, and I can only assume it’s a greenwashing campaign with a science veneer, by spreading the idea that eventually science will make plastics fully recyclable/reusable/compostable.

    The greenwashing plastics/petroleum industry is preying on the idea that there’s a solution on the horizon for the unsolvable problem of plastics recycling and reuse.

    Please reduce or even eliminate plastics use, if possible.

    Especially single use plastics.

    • PastelKeystone@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      I think of it as pablum used to keep people complacent with the status quo. Don’t change, a fix is right around the corner a few years away. Same idea just a different way to say it.

      Stories like this crop up around plastics, carbon capture (like @oeuf@slrpnk.net said), and batteries. How many stories have you seen about batteries with the term “game changer” in it?

      Not making a case for nihilism or apathy. Just healthy skepticism and make the changes you can in the meantime, like reducing single use plastics where you can.

    • monkeyslikebananas2@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      It takes decades to move the needle on manufacturing lines around the world. Once you make a new discovery you have to deploy it. That’s the difficult part. Unless you have a government mandate, it takes even longer. Companies are lazy and won’t change. Why do something when I can do nothing and continue to make money?

  • witty_username@feddit.nlEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Although this is good to hear, we could also just keep dumping PVA into our environment until an organism develops that can metabolise it and subsequently adapts to eat any kind of plastic ultimately rendering all plastics useless. Bonus points if metabolising the plastics releases toxic byproducts further ultra whopperfuck killing the bleeding piss out of everything that happens to be nearby

    Edit: although I am grateful for the earnest replies, I would like to mention that I intended my post to be sarcastic