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Break it Down! (Plastic, That Is)
Have you heard about the tiny heroes fighting against plastic pollution? These plastic-eating enzymes are breaking down the world's plastic and saving the planet, one molecule at a time.
— Written by Shayna Berglas
Plastic Eating Enzymes
What exactly are they and how do they work?
Enzymes are naturally occurring proteins that act as catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions. The plastic eating enzyme, called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hydrolase, was discovered in 2016 by a team of scientists at the University of Portsmouth and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the USA. This enzyme can break down PET, a commonly used plastic, into its building blocks, which can then be recycled.
Why is this important for climate change?
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats of our time. By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, according to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This not only affects marine life, but also the entire food chain, including humans. The discovery of plastic-eating enzymes offers a solution to the plastic waste crisis, helping reduce plastic pollution and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
This just goes on to show that even the smallest things can make a big difference in the fight against climate change. So, let's all do our part to reduce plastic waste, recycle, and support the research and development of these environmental superheroes.
Epoch Biodesign: The Tech in Action
Today, a mere 10% of plastics are recycled. When those plastics do make it to the right place, however, they’re often improperly sorted and subsequently discarded. The items that do get recycled require an energy-intensive and relatively dirty process that creates lower-quality outputs. But even as the demand for fossil fuels decreases, Big Oil is throwing its eggs in the plastics basket - and from the EPA's more conservative estimate to the more liberal one, that’s a basket creating somewhere from 100 to 500 million tons of CO2.
https://www.northernbeachescleanupcrew.com/blog/category/plastic-jokes
Epoch is a startup designing biological processes that use enzymes to transform plastic waste into everyday chemicals. These chemicals can be used to produce cleaning products, coatings, adhesives, and fertilizers. The process builds alternative circular chemicals. In other words, it essentially displaces fossil fuel feedstocks and creates a profitable plastic upcycling system.
Watch the video to learn more.
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