Oxo what? Navigating the not-quite-plastic minefield

Kate Hughes explains why pornstar martinis (probably) aren’t the beverage of choice of materials scientists

As a nation, we’ve found ourselves in a really weird place with “eco friendly” materials (Getty/iStock)

“What are you actually doing?” the seven-year-old said from the kitchen doorway, doing her best impression yet of an incredulous teenager.

It was a fair question. We’d been examining these pieces of… let’s say material, for what seemed like hours – holding them up to the light, smelling them, even licking a bit at one point as I remember, but we were still no closer to a decision.

The decision was about what on earth this stuff was. And what we were going to do with it.