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Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

phys.org

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Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#11

Post by ams6110 »

mason240 wrote: post #8

Everyone 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 unrec…

A lot of them do, if exposed to sunlight. Put a plastic water bottle or shopping bag out where it will get daily exposure to the sun. It doesn't take too long (e.g. less than a year?) before it first gets brittle and crumbly and then disintegrates completely.

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#12

Post by sveme »

paulmalenke wrote: post #3

Reminds me of this article. Teen Decomposes Plastic Bag in Three Months: http://www.wired.com/2008/05/teen-decomposes/

I know that HN is not reddit and these sort of remarks are frowned upon, but the URL is hilarious, in a creepy way.

(Note to self: when using "talking" URLs in a future web app, use the whole article title, not just a snippet)

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#13

Post by Retric »

hanniabu wrote: post #10

I'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 in…

What's the issue with having plastic in dumps? IMO, they dumps are one of the few carbon sinks humans actually use. Releasing that carbon seems to be a waste.

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#14

Post by Retric »

mason240 wrote: post #8

Everyone 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 unrec…

Dry wood lasts a lot longer than 10 years. Presumably, dry plastic would also last a very long time.

A paint can also protect stuff for a long time.

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#16

Post by facepalm »

mason240 wrote: post #8

Everyone 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 unrec…

We would just have to add some toxic substances to the plastic to keep the microbes down :-/

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#17

Post by amatus »

johnm1019 wrote: post #4

Would it be possible to use a spray rich in these bacteria (and maybe other nutrients?) onto that island of plastic at sea?

The article mentions the bacteria works at "a steady 86 degrees Fahrenheit." It may work slower or not at all at Pacific Ocean temperatures.

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#18

Post by unprepare »

From another article on the same topic[1]:

>The Kyoto researchers identified the gene in the bacteria's DNA that is responsible for the PET-digesting enzyme. They then were able to manufacture more of the enzyme and then demonstrate that PET could be broken down with the enzyme alone.

Sounds like this is quite a big step forward in our ability to reduce plastics to more base elements.

Has anyone caught what the exact output of this process is? Some waste must be excreted by these microbes, right?

[1] http://phys.org/news/2016-03-plastic-munching-bacteria-fuel-...

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#19

Post by hanniabu »

Retric wrote: post #13
hanniabu wrote: post #10

I'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 in…

What's the issue with having plastic in dumps? IMO, they dumps are one of the few carbon sinks humans actually use. Releasing that carbon seems to be a waste.

We can't keep creating new garbage dumps, eventually we'll run out of land. If we can decompose plastic, let all the organics and paper based garbage decompose, then you have a lot more space for new garbage to be added.

Re: Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles

#20

Post by _snydly »

amatus wrote: post #17
johnm1019 wrote: post #4

Would it be possible to use a spray rich in these bacteria (and maybe other nutrients?) onto that island of plastic at sea?

The article mentions the bacteria works at "a steady 86 degrees Fahrenheit." It may work slower or not at all at Pacific Ocean temperatures.

As a result of this article, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of groups engineering this bacteria's systems into something that could survive and grow at lower temperatures. Or maybe they'll try to encapsulate the two enzymes in nanoparticles.
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