4 ms·

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'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.

Retric 11y ago
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.
- hanniabu 11y ago
  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.
  - phpnode 11y ago
    I mean you're technically correct, but how long will that take? The earth is large and we have not covered even a fraction of 1% of it with landfill. It's unlikely that we'd actually run out of space in practice, it'd take thousands of years. Not that I condone the idea.
    - Retric 11y ago
      Not really, today's dumps are tomorrows mines. If we really don't want to keep this stuff over a very long time scale we could use a seduction zone and send our junk into earth mantle. PS: Trash is matter, to generate cubic miles of the stuff we need cubic miles of raw materials.
  - jessriedel 11y ago
    Eventually the fusion process in the sun stops too.
- collyw 11y ago
  I can't believe people are arguing for more landfill. Its inevitable that its going to happen, but that doesn't mean we should shouldn't try and minimize it. As we know lots of it doesn't end up in landfill. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic...
  - Retric 11y ago
    Carbon Sequestration is a landfill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sequestration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sequestration Plastic is Carbon, hydrogen, and possibly (oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen) ex: C4H3NO2. Breaking plastic down just gives that same stuff back. IMO, Sequestration is generally a bad idea, but if it's already underground then releasing that carbon for little gain seems pointless. At least when we burn trash we get some energy out of it.
    - bduerst 11y ago
      They mean landfill as in a garbage dump: https://www.google.com/search?q=landfill&espv=2&rlz=1CAZZAD_enUS653US653&biw=1280&bih=715&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4t46YoLnLAhUJ5WMKHUUmC3oQ_AUIBygC https://www.google.com/search?q=landfill&espv=2&rlz=1CAZZAD_... There are many forms of carbon sequestration, but this is the first I've seen someone try to redefine it all as garbage. There is more than just plastic (carbon) in a landfill, some of which takes centuries to degrade.
ScottBurson 11y ago
According to another piece I saw on this [0], the reaction products are ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. Both of those are useful industrial chemicals, though not things you'd want to eat yourself. ETA: The Gizmag article characterizes these chemicals as "environmentally harmless", which might be a slight exaggeration. I wouldn't be surprised if terephthalic acid turned out to be an endocrine disruptor, given its benzene ring. But neither chemical is acutely toxic. [0] http://www.gizmag.com/pet-enzyme-plastic-waste/42262/ http://www.gizmag.com/pet-enzyme-plastic-waste/42262/
- hammock 11y ago
  Here is a recent study showing estrogenic effect from terephthalic acid (TPA) http://m.carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/1/168 http://m.carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/1/168
mortehu 11y ago
> putting plastic bottles in a recycling bin so they can be melted down to make new ones This can't be done with the type of plastic used to make bottles. Plastic bottles are either reused as-is, or "downcycled" to lower grade plastic used for different products, like fleece clothing or fiberboards. http://www.greenhome.com/blog/what-is-downcycling http://www.greenhome.com/blog/what-is-downcycling

Retric 11y ago

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.

hanniabu 11y ago
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.
- phpnode 11y ago
  I mean you're technically correct, but how long will that take? The earth is large and we have not covered even a fraction of 1% of it with landfill. It's unlikely that we'd actually run out of space in practice, it'd take thousands of years. Not that I condone the idea.
  - Retric 11y ago
    Not really, today's dumps are tomorrows mines. If we really don't want to keep this stuff over a very long time scale we could use a seduction zone and send our junk into earth mantle. PS: Trash is matter, to generate cubic miles of the stuff we need cubic miles of raw materials.
- jessriedel 11y ago
  Eventually the fusion process in the sun stops too.
collyw 11y ago
I can't believe people are arguing for more landfill. Its inevitable that its going to happen, but that doesn't mean we should shouldn't try and minimize it. As we know lots of it doesn't end up in landfill. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic...
- Retric 11y ago
  Carbon Sequestration is a landfill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sequestration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_sequestration Plastic is Carbon, hydrogen, and possibly (oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen) ex: C4H3NO2. Breaking plastic down just gives that same stuff back. IMO, Sequestration is generally a bad idea, but if it's already underground then releasing that carbon for little gain seems pointless. At least when we burn trash we get some energy out of it.
  - bduerst 11y ago
    They mean landfill as in a garbage dump: https://www.google.com/search?q=landfill&espv=2&rlz=1CAZZAD_enUS653US653&biw=1280&bih=715&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4t46YoLnLAhUJ5WMKHUUmC3oQ_AUIBygC https://www.google.com/search?q=landfill&espv=2&rlz=1CAZZAD_... There are many forms of carbon sequestration, but this is the first I've seen someone try to redefine it all as garbage. There is more than just plastic (carbon) in a landfill, some of which takes centuries to degrade.

ScottBurson 11y ago

According to another piece I saw on this [0], the reaction products are ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. Both of those are useful industrial chemicals, though not things you'd want to eat yourself. ETA: The Gizmag article characterizes these chemicals as "environmentally harmless", which might be a slight exaggeration. I wouldn't be surprised if terephthalic acid turned out to be an endocrine disruptor, given its benzene ring. But neither chemical is acutely toxic. [0] http://www.gizmag.com/pet-enzyme-plastic-waste/42262/ http://www.gizmag.com/pet-enzyme-plastic-waste/42262/

hammock 11y ago
Here is a recent study showing estrogenic effect from terephthalic acid (TPA) http://m.carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/1/168 http://m.carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/1/168

mortehu 11y ago

> putting plastic bottles in a recycling bin so they can be melted down to make new ones This can't be done with the type of plastic used to make bottles. Plastic bottles are either reused as-is, or "downcycled" to lower grade plastic used for different products, like fleece clothing or fiberboards. http://www.greenhome.com/blog/what-is-downcycling http://www.greenhome.com/blog/what-is-downcycling