On June 7, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's manned submersible research vessel "Deep Sea 6500" lifted a new type of "biodegradable plastic" that was sunk in the deep waters of Sagami Bay about six months ago and is a light burden on the environment. Some of the material has degraded naturally due to the action of attached microorganisms. With plastic waste becoming a social problem, the organization is "striving to develop materials that can degrade into water and carbon dioxide even if they run into the sea.
This project is part of the challenging research "Lunar-based Research and Development System" promoted by the Cabinet Office and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Kenichi Kasutani, a professor at Gunma University, has tried to make about 70 types of biodegradable plastics from plants and other raw materials to replace common plastics made from petroleum. Mekoya said, "I want to develop a good new material that is strong enough when used, and will degrade faster in the sea as if a switch is pressed."
