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This article doesn't address microplastics. These enzymes degrade plastics, but what is left over? Does the problem of microplastics still occur such that the p

• nonrandomstring 4y ago
  > Does the problem of micro-plastics still occur such that the plastics only degrade to a certain size? Long polymer chains unravel, so my guess is that the product, depending on whether they're aerobic or anaerobic bacteria, would be carbon dioxide and water, or methane. Presumably smaller grains expose greater surface area and would be digested faster. I spoke about the uncertainty around plastic pollution in this interview just the other day [1], and the wisdom that came to mind was George Carlin's on the role of humankind being here just to create plastic, perhaps so that some new life form can evolve [2]. [1] https://www.thisishcd.com/episode/andy-farnell-perils-of-e-waste-and-benefits-of-being-a-digital-vegan https://www.thisishcd.com/episode/andy-farnell-perils-of-e-w... [2] https://youtube.com/watch?v=v3Yom-EuX0U https://youtube.com/watch?v=v3Yom-EuX0U
• ars 4y ago
  If you "eat" a plastic for energy what's left is water and CO2. Cutting a plastic into microplastics actually consumes energy, so there's no way they are doing that. The atoms in plastic are just Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon. (Chlorine sometimes, but rarely.) If you burn, consume, degrade, whatever you like, plastic, all you can get is water and CO2.