Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
1–10 of 59 posts
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#2Reminds me a bit of one of the plot points of the Ringworld novels. Our world runs on plastic; I wonder what would happen if a massively successful plastic-eating bacteria took off.
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#3Reminds me of this article.
Teen Decomposes Plastic Bag in Three Months: http://www.wired.com/2008/05/teen-decomposes/
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#4Would it be possible to use a spray rich in these bacteria (and maybe other nutrients?) onto that island of plastic at sea?
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#5Would it be possible to use a spray rich in these bacteria (and maybe other nutrients?) onto that island of plastic at sea?
If we're thinking about the same thing - that 'island of plastic' turned out to be incredibly diffuse - something like a few particles of plastic per cubic meter.
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#6Reminds me a bit of one of the plot points of the Ringworld novels. Our world runs on plastic; I wonder what would happen if a massively successful plastic-eating bacteria took off.
It's been a very long time, but I guess this 1979 Judge Dredd story made an impression on me as a kid because it was immediately what came to mind: http://dreddalert.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/judge-dredd-great-p...
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#7Reminds me a bit of one of the plot points of the Ringworld novels. Our world runs on plastic; I wonder what would happen if a massively successful plastic-eating bacteria took off.
When trying to re-read Ringworld, I mis-remembered it as DiscWorld, and then entered the bizarre mind of Terry Pratchett. Best mistake I ever made.
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#8Everyone seems to see this as a good thing, but think of terrible it would be if all the plastic items around you decomposed like wood. Sure, it would be beneficial for garbage and litter to "go away," but just think of how much more plastic we would need to use if every plastic item needed to be replaced every 10 years. I think it might have a significant impact on recycling as well - "rotten" plastic might be unrecylable, leading to even more use of virgin (?) plastic.
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#9Reminds me a bit of one of the plot points of the Ringworld novels. Our world runs on plastic; I wonder what would happen if a massively successful plastic-eating bacteria took off.
I also seem to recall a part of "Andromeda Strain" where bacteria were eating anything made of rubber?
Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles
#10I'm a bit confused. In the article it has these 2 statements:
> "...enzyme breaks it down even further, providing the bacteria with carbon and energy to grow."
> "I don't see how microbes degrading plastics is any better than putting plastic bottles in a recycling bin so they can be melted down to make new ones."
Is it degrading it to basic elements such as carbon, or is the bacteria just breaking the plastic down into smaller, microscopic pieces? If the bacteria actually breaks the plastic down to base components, then that is undoubtedly different than melting and recycling the plastic. There could be incubation centers that focus on reproducing this bacteria at mass scale and then releasing them into dumps to break down the plastic that is mixed in with the garbage.