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Plastic-Eating Bacteria Could Help Clean Up Waste (inhabitat.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the change-doesn't-happen-overnight dept.

Kristine Lofgren writes: Japanese researchers have discovered a microorganism that literally devours ocean-clogging plastic. The bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis can completely break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic used in bottles and containers. That type of plastic makes up a huge proportion of all the plastic waste in the world, particularly in the ocean. The bacterium uses a pair of enzymes to break down PET and turn it into a food source. The problem is, it takes up to six weeks for the bacterium to completely breakdown a small, low-grade sample of PET. Microbiologist Kohei Oda of the Kyoto Institute of Technology co-authored the study published this week in the journal Science, and he told PBS NewsHour he was "very surprised to find microorganisms that degrade PET" because the plastic has always been thought to be non-biodegradable. Now, scientists just need to figure out how to harness the hungry little bug to recycle plastic and reduce pollution.

3 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. what could possibly go wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    what could possibly go wrong
    gdz

  2. The probem is, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    it takes up to six weeks for the bacterium to completely breakdown

    Why is this a problem? What's the hurry, last week we didn't know this existed and now it's too slow?

  3. Re:No reason for alarm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why would we be concerned? It took biology the entirety of the Carboniferous period to develop effective ways of eating/breaking-down wood. We still use wood products. It will probably take a similar time frame for biology to be able to degrade plastics in general at the same rate... and then we (if we survive) will still be using plastic, and wood, products.

    captcha: "rotten"