this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2025
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Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours (www.reuters.com)
submitted 1 month ago by floofloof@lemmy.ca to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 17 points 1 month ago (9 children)

Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt.

If this means that it does not break down when exposed to just water, that's a pretty big deal. Water solubility has been the major issue making biodegradable plastics useless for food packaging (typically you want to either keep the food wet and water in, or dry and water out - either way water permeability is a problem).

Of course most foods also contain salt, so... I guess that's why the article talks about coatings. If the material has to be coated to keep it from breaking down too fast, what is the point? either the coating will prevent it from breaking down, or it just moves the problem to the coating not breaking down.

[–] Sibbo@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Plastic coated cardboard containers exist already, and are being widely used for food.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Well right, and coating them with plastic means that they leave plastic residue behind if they break down in an uncontrolled environment, and increases the cost and complexity of recycling:

If the paper has a plastic or aluminum coating, it can be recycled, but it is much more expensive and complicated.

Some plastic coatings can be separated from paper during the recycling process. Still, it is often cheaper and easier to use virgin materials to create new products than recycling paper coated with plastic.

Paper coated with plastic isn’t suitable for composting, and most times, such products are incinerated for heat or landfilled rather than recycled.

https://www.almostzerowaste.com/non-recyclable-paper/

Yes they already exist. They are not really better than pure plastic, they're kind of a form of greenwashing because they appear to be environmentally friendly.

[–] Sibbo@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

They are not really better than pure plastic, they're kind of a form of greenwashing because they appear to be environmentally friendly.

That's my impression, since all the "environmentally aware" companies use them.

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