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Cautiously optimistic about bacteria being able to metabolize plastic at scale in my lifetime. Would be interesting if they are able to do so in the environment

Cautiously optimistic about bacteria being able to metabolize plastic at scale in my lifetime. Would be interesting if they are able to do so in the environment, no idea what the implications would be if most plastics suddenly gained a shelf life like natural materials.

anonymouskimmer 3y ago
> no idea what the implications would be if most plastics suddenly gained a shelf life like natural materials. Wood basically doesn't have a shelf life as long as you aren't exposing it to the elements. This would be a problem for underground PVC piping, but not for bottled water, for the most part. Plastics already photodegrade. Not being an expert I assume this would be one of the larger issues for bottled water expiration dates, for instance. From here: https://www.pollutionsolutions-online.com/news/waste-management/21/breaking-news/what-is-plastic-photodegradation/35801 https://www.pollutionsolutions-online.com/news/waste-managem... The big issue seems to be the size of most plastics, not that bacteria can't already eat them. : Eventually, the pieces of plastic will become small enough to be consumed by microorganisms, which are able to metabolise it and convert it to carbon dioxide (CO2) or absorb it into their own biomolecules.
- koeng 3y ago
  > The big issue seems to be the size of most plastics, not that bacteria can't already eat them. Yep, that's why it is super cool things like mealworms can consume styrofoam - they have microbes in there gut that do the actual digesting, but they can chew it up physically, which is very important.
  - anonymouskimmer 3y ago
    Very neat. Gut microbes are what allow termites to digest wood so well.
  - euroderf 3y ago
    Can I get some OTC capsules with these microbes ? Eating styrofoam would be great for winning barroom bets.
    - anonymouskimmer 3y ago
      You can eat styrofoam without digesting it. I'm not sure about mealworms, but insects generally have different gut pH levels than humans. I'm not certain their microbes would thrive in the human gut.
huytersd 3y ago
I would love for plastic to have a shelf life of exactly 100 years. That would make it robust enough for multiple lifetimes but wouldn’t litter the earth for the next 100,000.
throwuwu 3y ago
I sincerely hope we never release these into the wild either accidentally or on purpose. It’s great to have microorganisms that can do work for you but they should be incapable of surviving outside a very controlled environment. We should only tackle a problem like plastic pollution with this by using a contained filter system where we feed the contaminated soil and water in and then take out the cleaned product and thoroughly sterilize it before returning it to the environment. Good God imagine how much worse it would be if the pollutant you had to deal with was alive and capable of self replication and evolving defences to your mitigation efforts!

anonymouskimmer 3y ago

> no idea what the implications would be if most plastics suddenly gained a shelf life like natural materials. Wood basically doesn't have a shelf life as long as you aren't exposing it to the elements. This would be a problem for underground PVC piping, but not for bottled water, for the most part. Plastics already photodegrade. Not being an expert I assume this would be one of the larger issues for bottled water expiration dates, for instance. From here: https://www.pollutionsolutions-online.com/news/waste-management/21/breaking-news/what-is-plastic-photodegradation/35801 https://www.pollutionsolutions-online.com/news/waste-managem... The big issue seems to be the size of most plastics, not that bacteria can't already eat them. : Eventually, the pieces of plastic will become small enough to be consumed by microorganisms, which are able to metabolise it and convert it to carbon dioxide (CO2) or absorb it into their own biomolecules.

koeng 3y ago
> The big issue seems to be the size of most plastics, not that bacteria can't already eat them. Yep, that's why it is super cool things like mealworms can consume styrofoam - they have microbes in there gut that do the actual digesting, but they can chew it up physically, which is very important.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  Very neat. Gut microbes are what allow termites to digest wood so well.
- euroderf 3y ago
  Can I get some OTC capsules with these microbes ? Eating styrofoam would be great for winning barroom bets.
  - anonymouskimmer 3y ago
    You can eat styrofoam without digesting it. I'm not sure about mealworms, but insects generally have different gut pH levels than humans. I'm not certain their microbes would thrive in the human gut.

huytersd 3y ago

I would love for plastic to have a shelf life of exactly 100 years. That would make it robust enough for multiple lifetimes but wouldn’t litter the earth for the next 100,000.

throwuwu 3y ago

I sincerely hope we never release these into the wild either accidentally or on purpose. It’s great to have microorganisms that can do work for you but they should be incapable of surviving outside a very controlled environment. We should only tackle a problem like plastic pollution with this by using a contained filter system where we feed the contaminated soil and water in and then take out the cleaned product and thoroughly sterilize it before returning it to the environment. Good God imagine how much worse it would be if the pollutant you had to deal with was alive and capable of self replication and evolving defences to your mitigation efforts!