From another article on the same topic[1]:<p>>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.<p>Sounds like this is quite a big step forward in our ability to reduce plastics to more base elements.<p>Has anyone caught what the exact output of this process is? Some waste must be excreted by these microbes, right?<p>[1] <a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-03-plastic-munching-bacteria-fuel-recycling-revolution.html#jCp" rel="nofollow">http://phys.org/news/2016-03-plastic-munching-bacteria-fuel-...</a>
Reminds me of this article.<p>Teen Decomposes Plastic Bag in Three Months:
<a href="http://www.wired.com/2008/05/teen-decomposes/" rel="nofollow">http://www.wired.com/2008/05/teen-decomposes/</a>
> <i>Mincer said: "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."</i><p>How it's better is that recycling is really just downcycling. Recycled plastics are of worse quality and are put to inferior uses. Plastic bottles that are recycled are not only melted but also shredded. Over multiple recyclings, the shredding reduces the molecular length and therefore qualities like tensile strength. The mixing of different plastics also degrades quality.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downcycling" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downcycling</a><p>So then this bacterial approach provides a potential exit path for plastic that has been recycled too many times to be of any decent use any more.<p>It sounds like these particular bacteria do a better job of breaking down plastic than what happens to "biodegradable" plastic when it is left out in the elements namely turning into "plastic dust" that hangs around.
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 unrecylable, leading to even more use of virgin (?) plastic.
I'm a bit confused. In the article it has these 2 statements:<p>> "...enzyme breaks it down even further, providing the bacteria with carbon and energy to grow."<p>> "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."<p>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.
Sounds like a great discovery until you get to the end of the article<p>> Mincer said the study was impressive and did a good job showing that these organisms were eating the plastic pretty well.<p>> However, he said it was not immediately clear whether or not it would help keep plastics out of the ocean, for example.
"When I think it through, I don't really know where it gets us," he said. "<p>>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."
My first thought when I read this headline was, "Thank God. We're going to need this in weaponized form when the robots take over." Next up, bacteria that eats carbon fiber...
Reminds 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.