Chemists develop next-generation self-healing plastic that's also biodegradable

Imagine a plastic that is harder than common plastics, non-flammable, and even has self-healing properties. But that is not all—it can be produced at room temperature in water, which is very energy-efficient and does not require toxic solvents. Before hardening, you can shape the plastic in any way you want—like chewing gum. By adding water, it can also be converted back to its "chewing gum" form at any time, reshaped and thus recycled as often as desired.