(2) Marine Biodegradable Plastics have the Potential to Bring a Clean Planet into our Future

The amount of plastic produced is increasing every year, and the amount of plastic waste spilled into the ocean is increasing with it. Marine biodegradable plastics have the potential to make a significant contribution to solving environmental problems caused by plastics used in the marine environment, such as fishing nets, which are difficult to recover when spilled. However, the number of candidate materials for such marine biodegradable plastics is currently very limited, and their physical properties do not necessarily meet the requirements for such applications. For this reason, it is desirable to develop materials based on new ideas to realize such plastics. In this review, we first introduce the science and technology behind the development of marine biodegradable plastics. In addition, the timing of the onset of degradation of biodegradable plastics and the control of the rate of degradation in the ocean will be explained with examples.