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.
No, but that’s been the biggest barrier to these kinds of plastics reaching global adoption. The vast majority of plastics have something to do with food production, or are exposed to myriad chemicals and temperatures. If they can’t do literally everything that normal plastics can do for the same price or cheaper, they won’t penetrate the market. I’m all for them, but it’s gonna be really tough to make any kind of dent.
Unless you can serve food in it and toss it in the dishwasher without it melting or falling apart, it’s basically pointless.
You might need to hear that most plastics should not be put in the dishwasher, or reused for food. There was an infograohic posted a while ago.
So one kind of plastic has to serve every use case of plastic in order to be plastic with a point?
No, but that’s been the biggest barrier to these kinds of plastics reaching global adoption. The vast majority of plastics have something to do with food production, or are exposed to myriad chemicals and temperatures. If they can’t do literally everything that normal plastics can do for the same price or cheaper, they won’t penetrate the market. I’m all for them, but it’s gonna be really tough to make any kind of dent.