A research group including the University of Tokyo has developed a new plastic that breaks down faster if it washes into the sea, by mixing degrading enzymes into the material in advance. The group said it hopes to help improve the problem of waste that keeps accumulating on the seabed.
The plastic carries the enzymes inside it from the point of manufacture, so degradation begins without the material first having to be collected or treated. The group said the aim is to speed up breakdown once the plastic reaches the ocean.
The approach addresses what happens to plastic after it escapes into the sea. It does not change how much plastic is produced, and the group gave no figures on how much faster the new material degrades or when it could be put to use.