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Plastic has a blight on the landscape and a deadly threat to wildlife for decades. Environmentalists have many pleas for us to the amount of plastic we use or to biodegradable alternatives. One solution to this problem may at hand. Scientists have a form of biodegradable plastic. This means that the billions of plastic bags, cups, straws and utensils that we of each day could be "compostable" - they could and break down as naturally as organic waste. The scientists are from the University of California, Berkeley. They say they have a plastic that could break down within a few weeks, rather than centuries, just heat and water.

The new, biodegradable product embedding polyester-eating enzymes into the plastic during the production process. When these enzymes are to heat and water, they away at the plastic and it to lactic acid. This provides nutrients for the soil when composted. Professor Ting Xu said up to 98 per cent of the plastic her team made into small molecules. She said: "We are basically that we are on the right track. We can this continuing problem of single-use plastics." She : "Look at all the wasted stuff we throw away - clothing, shoes, electronics like cellphones and computers. We are things from the earth at a faster rate than we can them."