this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2025
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The device known as shoyu-tai (or soy-sauce snapper in Japanese) was invented in 1954 by Teruo Watanabe, the founder of Osaka-based company Asahi Sogyo, according to a report from Japan’s Radio Kansai.

It was then common for glass and ceramic containers to be used but the advent of cheap industrial plastics allowed the creation of a small polyethylene container in the shape of a fish, officially named the “Lunch Charm”.

The invention quickly spread around Japan and eventually worldwide, and it is estimated that billions have been produced.

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[–] MrQuallzin@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The hard part about PLA is that while it is biodegradable, it's only in certain conditions/facilities who are set up for it, and it's not very common around the country. I'm all for what the company is doing, and I already do see a lot of PLA products in fast food (like soda cups), but it doesn't mean much if we don't have the facilities to properly dispose of it.

Source: I do a modest amount of 3D printing

[–] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm definitely not a polymer expert, I also have my information from what I read as a hobbyist. My take is that while PLA will compost in commercial facilities, it will eventually biodegrade in a reasonable time frame, with minor impact to nature. Better than the alternatives, I guess.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

How does it biodegrade though?

Just like disintegrate into tiny plastic molecules that we can no longer see but it's still plastic? Or does it degrade as far as becoming the individual components that made up the plastic and can be recycled and used by things in nature?

[–] elucubra@sopuli.xyz 1 points 18 hours ago

I don't know. As I mentioned elsewhere I'm not a chemical engineer, but I imagine that being made from starches, it may be decomposed into digestible compounds. Just guessing here.

[–] Cort@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Pla is poly lactic acid, so it breaks down into lactic acid and then further into water and CO2 with heat and bacteria exposure.