An Indian man sit on recyclable plastic bottles made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic at a plastic recycling centre in Mumbai, India on 23 March 2019. Plastic bottles makes up almost one sixth of the world’s annual plastic production. Photo Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images
Environment United KingdomSuper-Enzyme Eats Plastic Six Times Faster Than Before
British scientists have created a super-enzyme capable of degrading plastic bottles six times faster than before. And it could be ready to start recycling in a year or two.
“When we linked the [two] enzymes, rather unexpectedly, we got a dramatic increase in activity,“ says Professor John McGeehan, at the University of Portsmouth, UK. “This is a trajectory towards trying to make faster enzymes that are more industrially relevant. But it’s also one of those stories about learning from nature, and then bringing it into the lab.”
The two separate enzymes were found in a plastic-eating bug discovered in Japan back in 2016. One attacks the hard surface of the plastic. The other doubles the speed of breakdown of the chemical groups liberated by the first enzyme. Scientists continue their research as they believe that further molecular combinations could speed up the process even more. It could also be possible to combine the super-enzyme with enzymes that break down cotton, preventing millions of tons of clothing to be dumped in landfill or incinerated.
