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Self Destructing Plastics via Embedded Enzymes
- dpeck 5y agoIf it’s economically viable, there is no way that this isn’t used against buyers as part of planned obsolescence schemes.
- hinkley 5y agoThis will become a prime example of 'being poor is expensive'.
- btbuildem 5y agoThese enzyme-embedded plastics should be the cheapest option, so that all the disposable garbage that gets made would use them as ingredients. Durable / long lasting plastics would cost a premium and only get used for things meant to last.
- blawson 5y agoIn general love the idea of these sorts of plastics improvements and hope it can solve a lot of the existing waste issue. And cut down on the awful micro plastics! But the cynic in me is wondering about the articles 10 years down the road talking about how these enzymes are now basically "salting the earth" and we can't wait to figure out how to get them out of the soil and water.
- outworlder 5y agoEnzymes are proteins. Proteins degrade. Anything is possible, but this seems unlikely. More worrying would be the by-products of the plastic degradation reacting and producing something harmful.
- drekipus 5y agoYou're right, best to stick with the good ol' reliable 1000-years-to-break-down pollution
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- userbinator 5y agoI suspect plastics may become as valuable as oil today in the far future.
- therein 5y agoOpinions on this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdSjyvIHVLw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdSjyvIHVLw
- cobalt 5y agodumb
- Nasrudith 5y agoIf you define far future as far enough then it may well be coal or oil. The same thing with lignin is what made coal - it was a hydrocarbon "plastic" of its day that bacteria hadn't figured out how to consume. Of course if we assume a remotely industrial era progression of advances oil reserves may be near-worthless. Why dig down say fifty feet for enough oil to fill the shelves of a Walmart camping section?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- therein 5y agoIt isn't an either this or that kind of situation. You're imposing a false dichotomy on the issue. Just because we don't want to stick with the good ol' reliable 1000-years-to-break-down pollution like the way you put it, doesn't mean we should jump on the first promising path we see. Or else you might find yourself in ten years with all the seagulls dead or something.
- bluGill 5y agoThat is my worry. They are putting in a development near my house so I'm watching them put in a lot of pipes using a large amount of energy (6 high horse power tractors emitting a lot of CO2 for weeks on end). If those pipes last forever (as currently expected), then overall the impact is low, but if they start degrading we will be spending even more CO2 to replace them. Though a part of me wonders how much more it would cost to put in a subway when they already have the ground dug up.
- gootler 5y agoWho gives a fuck. Have pla forever, plant based plastics, break down seamlessly.
- userbinator 5y agoI can't help but think this and other attempts at biodegradability going to lead to even more planned obsolescence. Things which used to last basically forever will self-destruct with no way to stop it; of course it'll be heralded as the next generation of environmental friendliness, but it's actually a way to keep the consumers consuming and the producers producing (nevermind how much resources get used in the production of these things...)
- Sebb767 5y agoTo be fair, reducing the lifespan from a few centuries to a few decades will not impact most consumers. Especially if we're talking about stuff that'll see very few uses, such as plastic bags.
- bordercases 5y agoThe current situation is that planned obsolescence exists without biodegradable materials. So you get two externalities: products that aren't made to last due to poor make causing artificial demand, which also won't degrade when disposed. So now we can potentially legislate the use of biodegradable materials where planned obsolescence exists, while simultaneously demanding less planned obsolescence as a separate problem. You might argue that there would be less reason to respond to incentives if disposables were more environmentally efficient to maintain, but on the other hand I'm unsure if producers are responding now in the first place. This is an area where I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
- johnebgd 5y agoThings wear out. Thats a natural part of life. Ensuring that the things wearing out can be biodegradable is a big net positive for society. Making things more repairable / upgradeable is a good way to make things last longer.
- asxd 5y agoI think that's exactly the point. In this context, planned obsolescence of plastics is the goal, because currently they last much longer than needed. I'm having trouble seeing how this might lead to planned obsolescence of non-plastic goods that you would want to keep around for a long while.
- microplastics 5y agoNot enough information here to really pass judgement, but multiple issues to consider: 1) 40C is easily the temperature products will see on a tarmac in Arizona while being shipped cross country. Unless they are working with enzymes with a higher temperature range, this would essentially require a cold chain and limit end-use environments which would be a nonstarter for most manufacturers/products. 2) Most plastics are melt processed (extruded/injection molded) at temperatures high enough to denature enzymes/proteins, I do not see an indication that they are working with a heat stable enzyme, which suggests they are relying on manufacturing methods that are likely to be less economically viable. 3) Enzymes are expensive! Unless they are working with (or are plausibly developing) a cost effective solution, I wouldn't be surprised if their material is orders of magnitude more expensive than commodity packaging plastics.
- stevespang 5y agoAll important points, enzyme proteins are quite temperature sensitive
- frellus 5y agoBeautiful, love it - let's get on with it already, though. I hate plastic, I love these ideas. Down with plastic, bring back glass for all liquids at a minimum.
- akomtu 5y agoHow about rapidly biodegrading plastic that most things are made of? Your car or your fridge dissolves in 3 years, so you have to buy a replacement. "Greenness" can mesh very well with greed.
- axus 5y agoCouldn't we be landfilling all this plastic to capture its carbon, instead of helping it turn back into CO2?
- prvc 5y agoAlso worth considering is how this would prevent re-use of products using this material, and uncertainties over the breakdown process (perhaps it becomes likely to stop when it reaches a certain size)
- whatshisface 5y agoWhat are the health effects of the monomers left behind by this process?
- malwarebytess 5y agoI've changed my mind on plastics. It's not really the plastics that are the problem. It's that nations without good garbage infrastructure are using them, and using them for single use objects. Most of the plastic pollution comes from Asia. The Philippines for example. The best way to tackle plastic pollution is to properly dispose of it. Not even recycle, just collect it and stop dumping it into rivers.
- toper-centage 5y agoEven in a European Capital trash is routinely found on the floor, on the streets. People throw it on purpose or by mistake, or the wind blows it away. Eventually it is forgotten, blown to forests to break down, or carried to waterways until it reaches rivers. Let's not pretend that plastic isn't everywhere in the west too. We need to stop single use plastics and unnecessary packaging yesterday.
- ostenning 5y agoThis is absolutely false. Rich nations do not know what to do with all the trash they produce. Australia had been shipping their trash to Indonesia, Malaysia and other SE Asian countries [1] for quite a long time, until just recently when Malaysia decided it was enough. Australia is not the only rich country guilty of this. The diabolical thing is that Australians believed their waste was being handled correctly, e.g not being shipped to poor nations so their rivers and streets could flood with our trash. The fact remains that plastic exasperates the “disposable” mindset and it produces mindbending amounts of waste every year. Its a logistical and environmental nightmare [1] https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/why-australia-sends-its-waste-overseas-and-what-we-should-do-about-it-20190705-p524j4.html https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/why-australia-sends-its-wa...
- fallingfrog 5y agoI bought a biodegradable tarp once. It was a big mistake- it fractured into dime sized pieces that were scattered by the wind all over my yard and took weeks to pick up.