Bacterial enzymes can digest some plastic waste. On GlobalRecyclingDay, learn more about how scientists want to harness them for recycling. ♻️
found in a compost pile that takes apart the waxy layer on leaves. A strain of lab-evolved bacteria then used the raw materials to build two new kinds of plastic., some plastics might be recycled by washing them in enzymes, much as enzyme-based detergents break down food stains in dirty clothes, says Gregg Beckham, a chemical engineer at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory .
When the Colorado researchers returned 24 hours later, 84% of the plastic had dissolved—suggesting the enzyme had broken the plastic down into smaller molecules. Beckham's target is to break down 95% of 5 kilograms of plastic in 1 month, he says."We'll blow that out of the water." By contrast, plastics with bonds linking carbon atoms directly are tougher. Representing more than half of plastics made, they include the polyethylene of ubiquitous grocery bags and the polypropylene that forms a dizzying array of products, as diverse as syrup bottles and car dashboards.larvae of wax moths
That's true for all enzymatic recycling methods. The raw materials—natural gas and oil—that go into most plastic are relatively cheap. Even if a recycled material were cheap enough to compete with a new one, it would have to be integrated into a vast manufacturing infrastructure and meet the exacting demands of companies buying plastics, says William Banholzer, a chemical engineer who was chief technology officer until 2014 at Dow, one of the world's largest plastic manufacturers.
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