Microplastics have gotten a serious downside. In response to the UN Surroundings Program, an estimated 2.7 million tons of microplastics entered the worldwide setting in 2020. That quantity is predicted to double by 2040. These microplastics have made their means into the fish we eat, the greens we pluck from the bottom, and even into human brains and penile tissue. Whereas consultants are nonetheless working to grasp what that publicity means for well being, a couple of very sensible scientists are already working to seek out alternate options. That features one group out of Japan who say they’ve invented a brand-new materials that might sooner or later exchange some conventional plastics with out leaving any microplastics in sight.

In late 2025, a crew from the RIKEN Middle for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), led by Takuzo Aida, revealed their findings within the Journal of the American Chemical Society, describing a plant-based plastic they designed utilizing plant-derived cellulose. They defined that it’s “robust, versatile, and able to speedy decomposition in pure environments, setting it aside from different plastics marketed as biodegradable.” 

Whereas they famous that plastics labeled as “biodegradable” will not be new, technically neither is their invention. Cellulose-based plastics have additionally been round for some time; nevertheless, they’re often made with different supplies that degrade solely underneath very particular industrial situations, corresponding to excessive warmth or in industrial composting amenities. That implies that in the event that they wind up within the oceans, they are going to seemingly shed microplastics and take a number of lifetimes to totally degrade.

So, as an alternative, this crew got down to construct a plastic that might collapse nearly immediately upon contact with saltwater. They did so by specializing in a essential chemical bond that breaks in seawater, permitting the fabric to dissolve relatively than flake aside.

Their new materials additionally improves on earlier designs by utilizing carboxymethyl cellulose, a plant-based materials that is already FDA-approved and extensively utilized in meals merchandise like ice cream as a thickening agent.

The researchers paired it with a second compound that they defined helps bind cellulose chains collectively, forming a community robust sufficient to carry up but versatile sufficient to dissolve when it is time. In addition they added choline chloride, one other FDA-approved substance generally used as a meals additive, to keep up flexibility. The crew even created a small plastic bag from the fabric and, in testing, noticed it dissolve in saltwater inside hours.

“Whereas our preliminary examine targeted totally on the conceptual, this examine reveals that our work is now at a extra sensible stage,” Aida shared in an announcement. And, as a result of the substances are already frequent, accredited to be used in client merchandise, and cheap, they imagine their new materials may very well be rolled out relatively rapidly.

After all, they observe that whereas this new materials will not exchange all plastic in a single day, it’s nonetheless an enormous step ahead for the betterment of our planet with out requiring people to sacrifice quite a lot of comfort.

“Nature produces about one trillion tons of cellulose yearly,” Aida added. “From this ample pure substance, we’ve created a versatile but powerful plastic materials that safely decomposes within the ocean. This expertise will assist shield the Earth from plastic air pollution.”