F10: The Biodegradable Plastic Of The Future?
It seems as though every six months we hear about a new material that is biodegradable and will eliminate our dependency on petroleum-based plastics forever. So far, we’ve been let down consistently. However, a new development out of Japan is very promising. It’s based on a combination of two low-cost ionic monomers that, once formed, only takes a few hours to break down in seawater. And this is just the beginning.
Listen in to learn what’s coming from Japan’s Riken Center For Emergent Matter Design, and hold on to hope that this is the solution we’ve been waiting for.
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F10: THE BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC OF THE FUTURE?
BEFORE GETTING STARTED, I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THIS EPISODE MARKS THE END OF SEASON 1 OF MY GOOD THREE. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. IT’S BEEN AN EXCITING THREE MONTHS, AND 2025 IS GOING TO BE EVEN BETTER. SO, ENJOY THE EPISODE, AND WE’LL BE BACK THE FIRST MONDAY OF 2025, WITH THE FIRST EPISODE OF SEASON 2! HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF…ME…AT MY GOOD THREE!
HAPPY FRIDAY….IF YOU’RE LIKE ME, YOU GET A LITTLE TIRED OF READING EXCITING HEADLINES ABOUT NEW DISCOVERIES THAT ARE GOING TO CHANGE OUR WORLD FOR THE BETTER, ONLY TO HAVE THEM FADE AWAY AS THEY’RE PROVEN EITHER TOO EXPENSIVE, IMPRACTICAL, OR DOWNRIGHT NOT BASED IN FACT. THESE HEADLINES OFTEN COME FROM STARTUPS THAT SAY THEY HAVE “THE ANSWER” BUT THEY MAY HAVE EXAGERRATED THEIR CLAIMS TO GET SOME PR THAT WILL LEAD TO MORE FUNDING. I KNOW THAT’S CYNICAL, BUT SOMETIMES THAT’S HOW IT WORKS.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A DISCOVERY ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK IN JAPAN THAT, AT FIRST, SOUNDS JUST LIKE A LOT OF OTHER BREAKTHROUGHS…. BUT SOMETHING ABOUT IT SEEMS MORE REAL. IF THIS DISCOVERY, TOUTED AS AN ERA-DEFINING INVENTION IS TRUE, THEN ERA-DEFINING IS RIGHT, AND IT COULD HAVE MAJOR IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR HEALTH AND FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
EPISODE
OFF THE WEST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES, BETWEEN HAWAII AND CALIFORNIA, THERE’S A FLOATING ISLAND OF WASTE, MOSTLY PLASTICS, CALLED THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH. IT’S ABOUT 1.6 MILLION SQUARE KILOMETERS. FOR REFERENCE, THAT’S ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE ENTIRE NORTHWEST UNITED STATES. NOT ONLY IS THIS TERRIBLE FOR OUR OCEANS, BUT IT’S ALSO A REMINDER THAT 90% OF THE PLASTICS THAT WE THROW IN OUR RECYCLING BINS AT HOME, DON’T END UP BEING RECYCLED - THEY FIND THEIR WAY INTO LANDFILLS AND SOME INTO OUR OCEANS. IN FACT, IT’S ESTIMATED THAT THE EQUIVALENT OF A DUMP TRUCK FULL OF PLASTICS IS DISCARDED INTO OUR OCEANS EVERY MINUTE.
IT'S NOT JUST THE BIG FLOATING ISLAND OF GARBAGE THAT’S THE PROBLEM…WE HAVE MICROPLASTICS IN OUR BODIES WITHOUT REALIZING IT AND THEY’RE TOXIC.
AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. PLASTIC PRODUCTION IS EXPECTED TO TRIPLE BY THE YEAR 2050. IT’S EASY TO MAKE. IT’S STRONG. IT’S CHEAP. AND IT CAN BE FORMED INTO ANY SHAPE.
OF COURSE, THIS IS A PROBLEM.
AND, FOR DECADES WE’VE KNOWN IT’S A PROBLEM. IN FACT, IN THE 1920S, THE FIRST-KNOWN BIOPLASTICS WERE CREATED FROM BACTERIA. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY WERE TOO EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE PETROLEUM-BASED PLASTICS, BUT THIS STARTED A WAVE OF RESEARCH TO FIND A BETTER, MORE EARTH-FRIENDLY WAY TO CREATE PLASTIC. IN THE 1970S, THE PETROLEUM CRISIS REIGNITED EFFORTS TO FIND A SUBSTITUTE, AND SINCE THEN, RESEARCHERS HAVE THOUGHT THEY’VE FOUND THE SOLUTION…ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT BRINGING THEIR INVENTIONS TO MARKET ISN’T PRACTICAL.
JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO, A RESEARCH TEAM IN JAPAN ANNOUNCED THAT THEY HAVE MADE A SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH. THEY CLAIM THAT THEY HAVE INVENTED A NEW TYPE OF PLASTIC THAT DISSOLVES COMPLETELY IN SEAWATER. AND THEY CLAIM THIS NEW FAMILY OF PLASTICS IS STRONG, STABLE, RECYCLABLE, AND WHEN RECYCLED, GENERATES ZERO MICROPLASTICS OR PULLUTION.
ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT-BACKED RIKEN CENTER FOR EMERGENT MATTER SCIENCE, AND THEIR PARTNER, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO, THE COLORLESS, TRANSPARENT PLASTIC HAS THE SAME STRENGTH AND THERMAL RESISTANCE AS POLYPROPYLENE. THE NEW PLASTIC IS MADE BY COMBINING TWO LOW-COST IONIC MONOMERS, ONE OF WHICH IS A COMON FOOD ADDITIVE USED IN FARMING. AND, ONCE THE PLASTIC IS FORMED, IT ONLY TAKES A FEW HOURS FOR THE MONOMERS TO BREAK DOWN IN SEAWATER, AND ONLY 10 DAYS TO BREAK DOWN IN SOIL.
WHAT’S EVEN MORE EXCITING, 91% OF THE MATERIAL CAN BE REUSED AFTER IT’S DISSOLVED, SO IT’S HIGHLY RECYCLABLE, AND IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH ENERGY TO DO SO.
AND THE TIMING IS PERFECT. THE WORLDS KEY COUNTRIES ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF NEGOTIATING A GLOBAL PLASTICS TREATY, SO THE ATTENTION ON THE ISSUE IS FINALLY SURFACING. WITH THIS DISCOVERY, IT MIGHT FORCE MORE COLLABORATION BETWEEN NATIONS, RESEARCHERS, AND MANUFACTURERS, TO CREATE THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CHANGE.
THE URGENCY FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION TO PETROLEUM-BASED PLASTICS HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER, AND IF THIS DISCOVERY TURNS OUT TO PERFORM AS ADVERTISED, WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY TO FREEING OURSELVES FROM OUR DEPENDENCE ON DANGEROUS, TOXIC, OIL-BASED PLASTICS.
I’VE HEARD A LOT OF COMPANIES SAY THEY’VE CRACKED THE CODE TO BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS….SO I’M GOING TO REMAIN CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ON THIS ANNOUNCEMENT UNTIL I SEE MORE. BUT I CAN SAY, THAT WHILE IT IS LIKELY THERE WILL BE THREE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF PLASTIC PRODUCED BY THE YEAR 2050, WITH THE ATTENTION THAT’S FINALLY BEING PLACED ON THE ISSUE, WE CAN BE MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN EVER THAT WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A SOLUTION SOON….AND THAT IS SOMETHING TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/articles/how-riken-university-of-tokyos-dissolvable-plastic-works
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/22/japan/plastic-dissolving-in-seawater/
https://biopolylab.com/2020/06/a-short-history-of-bioplastics/
https://www.positive.news/society/good-news-stories-from-week-48-of-2024/