Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) resin is widely used as a film forming material, and has good strength and water solubility characteristics. Two parameters significantly affecting PVA solubility are molecular weight and degree of hydrolysis. Commercially available films range in weight average molecular weight from about 10,000 to 100,000 g/mole. Percent hydrolysis of such commercial PVA films is generally about 70% to 100%. Because PVA is made by polymerizing vinyl acetate and subsequentlyhydrolyzing the resin, PVA can and typically does include residual acetates. The term "Polyvinyl alcohol" thus includes vinyl alcohol and vinyl acetate copolymers. For solubility purposes, a high degree of hydrolysis, e.g., 95% renders the filmrelatively insoluble. Lower degrees of hydrolysis, e.g. 80-95%, improve solubility. In an alkaline environment however, these films become insoluble. Higher molecular weight films generally exhibit the best mechanical properties, e.g., impactstrength, however solubility is reduced.