Scientists in Japan may have just developed what some are calling the perfect plastic—a plant-based material that fully degrades in saltwater and leaves behind zero microplastics.
Led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, the research team created a new kind of polymer made from plant cellulose—the world’s most abundant organic compound. Unlike most biodegradable plastics that barely break down in the ocean or take years to do so, this material dissolves rapidly when exposed to saltwater, disassembling into harmless components without leaving microscopic plastic fragments behind.
The secret is in the plasticiser — a small molecule that can be blended to make the material more flexible without sacrificing strength. After extensive experimentation, they found an unlikely solution: the organic salt choline chloride. By adding different amounts of this FDA-approved food additive, the team was able tune the plastic’s flexibility to suit different uses. The same material can then range from being hard and glass-like to being so elastic that it can be stretched up to 130% of its original length. It can even be made into a strong, thin film with a thickness of only 0.07 mm.
What makes this breakthrough especially exciting is that the plastic can be made to be strong, flexible, and processable like conventional plastics during use but engineered to fall apart once it encounters the salty conditions of the sea. By harnessing reversible chemical bonds that are sensitive to salt, the material stays intact on land yet dissolves efficiently in marine environments. With 11 million tonnes of plastic ending up in our oceans each year this is an important breakthrough – and could be a great Xmas present for the oceans!