This article talks about the recent discovery of a plastic eating enzyme that could revolutionize recycling. I’m interested to see how this will used in the commercial context!
This article talks about the recent discovery of a plastic eating enzyme that could revolutionize recycling. I’m interested to see how this will used in the commercial context!
Saw a few articles on this discovery. Very interesting. I found it shocking that, according to the article, “humans buy a million plastic bottles every minute.” This is definitely a problem in search of a solution. It is unlikely that people will voluntarily change their convenient buying habits to help solve the plastic problem. I wonder what environmental concerns could result from the use of this enzyme in natural settings. Sure it eats plastic, but what else does it do? Could be in a situation where the enzyme has an even more deleterious effect than having the plastic bottles (though I doubt it). Cautiously excited about where this discovery will lead us.
That was my exact thought. After all, the plastic eater is a mutation of an already existing enzyme. Who knows what it’s capable of in this early stage.
Shandice, great article. Plastic waste is an enormous concern today and this would revolutionize recycling. Look forward to seeing its development.
I definitely think the use of plastic bottles and the pollution stemming from it is a huge problem in need of a solution. The article’s claim that this new research could potentially erase millions of tons of plastic bottles polluting the world is outstanding. However, the article makes the findings seem like they were obtained by mistake. It is not clear what other potentials this “super enzyme” has and if there are potentially deleterious worse than the use of plastic bottles, as Michael mentioned in his comment. If anything it seems a little early for this article to be publishing news about this “super enzyme” since more research needs to be done about its potential impact. Similarly to my other classmates, I found the article to be an interesting read but I am hesitant to declare the hazardous issues regarding plastics bottle pollution to be solved just yet.
“We can all play a significant part in dealing with the plastic problem, but the scientific community who ultimately created these ‘wonder-materials’, must now use all the technology at their disposal to develop real solutions,” Professor John McGeehan, who led the research, said in a press release.
The enzyme is able to “digest” polyethylene terephthalate or PET, the main ingredient in most plastic bottles, researchers said.
More research must be done to determine how the enzyme could impact the future of recycling and waste.
Humans buy a million plastic bottles every minute, according to a report last year by The Guardian. Environmental activists, such as Ban the Bottle, estimate Americans alone use about 50 billion plastic water bottles annually.
I’m curious as to whether the R&D behind this is more affordable than paying for recycling efforts. With recycling, you get the product back ( or at least some of it). Here, it would seem the enzyme just makes the plastic disappear entirely–which is good as well, but if the process to do so is just as expensive if not more than recycling, wouldn’t it make sense to just stick to recycling? This might require more investigation into who is funding the R&D behind the project. If it’s a private investor, maybe they see a profit potential behind this technology that can be capitalized in the future. If its a government, it would be interesting to see their policy reasons for choosing this method over recycling.