The face of plastic is changing. I recently wrote about a new type of living, mushroom-based plastic that is both highly durable and biodegradable. Now, scientists in Japan have announced a revolutionary new type of plastic that is also biodegradable. So much so that if it were to make its way into the ocean, as so much of our plastic waste does, it would disintegrate in the seawater (or moist soil) within hours. Not years or decades. Literal hours.

Like the living mushroom-based plastic I previously mentioned, this quick-dissolving plastic is no slouch. The researchers claim it’s strong like traditional petroleum-based plastics, but rather than choking the life from our oceans, it self-destructs. Upon making contact with the salty water, it begins the process of breaking down into harmle

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