A team of biomaterial engineers, environmental resource specialists and industrial design researchers affiliated with a host of institutions across Japan has developed a biodegradable material that is clear and can hold boiling water—and it degrades in less than a year after settling on the ocean floor. Their work is published in the journal Science Advances.
It’s not so much about humanity being smart as it is about governments having the incentive to intervene. They set the rules as to what is allowed, easy and cheap. Companies just play the game by the rules set by those governments, while consumers buy what’s available.
Releasing greenhouse gases, and manufacturing single use items out of very durable materials is cheap at the moment, so that’s what companies end up doing.