The sample of colored ocean-degradable plastic being stirred and dissolved in saltywater is seen during a demonstration at the Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan May 27, 2025. - Reuters
WAKO, Japan: 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.
