Can Nature Help Solve The Plastic Problem?
Plastic-eating bacteria, it appears, are now a thing.
Evolutionarily speaking, plastics have only been around for a short time. So it may come as a surprise that a bacteria has magnificently evolved to consume the material as food.
The initial discovery of this bacteria was made in 2016 by a group of Japanese scientists examining plastic from a bottle recycling facility. And just this April, an international cohort of scientists made a surprising announcement.
They have unexpectedly enhanced the enzyme of the bacteria that can now break down plastic in just a few days! The researchers are hopeful that with further research it will eventually become an aid for industrial recycling.
And while it may seem we’ve got it goin’ on when it comes to recycling, the truth is more bleak, making innovations like this all the more important.
The Real State of Recycling
If you live in California like us, you see recycling all around. But many places, even in the US, don’t provide recycling services.
And if this is the case here in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, you can imagine how little plastic is being recycled globally compared to how much is being produced.
Here are 2 key items to understand the current state of plastic and plastic recycling:
- 90% of plastics are made from oil
- Only ~14% are recycled
Furthermore, of all the plastic bottles and food packaging we throw in our bins, most of it isn’t being made back into food packaging. It’s likely being used for things like clothing and carpeting.
This is where harnessing the plastic-eating enzyme could eventually help us out.
Potential Uses for the Plastic-Eating Bacteria
Enzyme technology could prove to be somewhat of an environmentalist’s dream. Damian Carrington reported chemist Oliver Jones saying that “Enzymes are non-toxic, biodegradable and can be produced in large amounts by microorganisms.”
There are two proposed areas where the bacteria could come into play.
1. Industrial Recycling
With continued research and development of the enzyme, it could be used in recycling processes to turn plastic bottles back into… plastic bottles. Instead of the fiber for carpets and textiles that they’re commonly made into now.
This would in theory cut back on the amount of oil we’d need to pull from the ground to keep up with plastic production and provide a closed-loop lifecycle for plastic bottles.
2. Cleaning Up Ocean Plastic
The other theory that’s been floated around is deploying the bacteria to be used for eating up ocean plastic. But a healthy dose of skepticism and plenty more research is needed before any such thing could take place.
Time and effort will determine the feasibility of either of these potential uses.
Zooming Out on the Plastic Problem
The thing about solving big problems, or as Peter Diamandis might call them, “global grand challenges,” is that there usually isn’t one epic solution.
It’s the combination and compilation of smaller solutions over time that will lead us to solve the global scale challenges we face.
That’s what’s so exciting about innovations like these. Sure, they may not be the end all be all.
But every new discovery like this is a step in the right direction.
Act on Climate
We’re excited to join Entrepreneurs Call To Action at Global Climate Action Summit as a network partner!
Calling all clean energy startups to be part of the movement and sign the Call to Action at https://energynexus.co/calltoactiongcas/
