Chemistry World (London, March 18) -- A water soluble radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag that can melt away in a matter of minutes has been developed at the U. of I. by materials science and engineering professor John Rogers. RFID tags are widely used for tracking consumer products, livestock and people – billions are produced each year. Most end up in landfill after a short period of time, but Rogers’ team have developed a prototype that could be easily recycled or reabsorbed into the environment once discarded.