Plastic is used so often for its durability, but subsequently its durability is causing a huge threat to the environment. Plastic is made of polymer chains that don’t dissolve in water, making them had to decompose. However, scientists have been working on increasing the productivity of a bacteria that can break plastic down and convert it into food. This bacteria is called Ideonella Sakaieis 201-f6 and they can penetrate plastics dense, crystalline structure and split bonds with an enzyme to extract carbon as a fuel source. Scientists and working not to subtly change the enzymes to work more effectively. One concern, however, is that if this bacteria is released into the wild it could quickly get out of hand and make plastics less durable, leading to a whole slew of problems.
Plastic pollution is far reaching over the globe, and is one of the biggest environmental hazards due to how slowly plastics decompose. The use of plastic eating bacteria could be a great way to tackle this problem and seems to have a very promising future. Although this won’t be the only solution to plastic pollution it definitely is a start. It is interesting how quickly bacteria change to respond to the environment, as these bacteria aren’t man made, they developed themselves, but are being modified by scientists. We will have to be extremely careful if we do choose to deploy these bacteria in nature as it is possible that they could quickly get out of hand.
I agree that this bacteria is revolutionary and could prevent a lot of pollution. You mentioned this being one possible solution, do you or the article know of other solutions?
Thanks for the comment! I agree that this could be evolutionary if used properly, but it is still only 1 way to approach the issue. There are tons of new and innovative ideas out there. I think the best way to improve this problem is to address commercial fishing and plastic packaging of foods ect. However, there are a lot of companies that are taking plastic out of the ocean and making things out of them like tee shirts, leggings, and bags. I also know of a relatively new system that uses plasma ( the same stuff that the sun is made of) to vaporize waste and turn it into fuel/gas. That is a super interesting method and is environmentally pretty sound. It releases no emissions. There is only a tiny bit of waste that they entrap in glass at the end of the process.
I do agree that this could be a start of finding a solution for plastic pollution, but this particular bacteria sounds very dangerous. We do not know what implications it could have on the environment except making plastic less durable. There should be more research done before the bacteria are used on a large scale.
What are some other ways scientists are trying to solve plastic pollution?
Thanks for commenting! I think more research needs to be done, but really it is probably not a great idea to unleash them on the ocean in a large scale. This should be used as one tool to combat pollution and possibly to prevent plastic going to landfills. There are a lot of companies that are taking plastic out of the ocean and making things out of them like tee shirts, leggings, and bags. I also know of a relatively new system that uses plasma ( the same stuff that the sun is made of) to vaporize waste and turn it into fuel/gas. That is a super interesting method and is environmentally pretty sound. It releases no emissions. There is only a tiny bit of waste that they entrap in glass at the end of the process.
I found this post very interesting because I never knew there was plastic eating bacteria, the problems resulting from releasing the bacteria do seem to be an issue and I think that the solution is complicated.
Thanks for the comment! I agree that releasing them seems like an issue that I hadn’t really thought of. Maybe this could be used as a way to prevent plastics from going to land fill, but not something we let out into the environment.
The use of plastic eating bacteria to degrade plastic is a really innovative form of environmental cleanup and I agree that it should definitely be implemented. I also agree that it could have serious implications for the environment and humans alike, if we do not use it in a very controlled way.
How could we ensure that plastic eating bacteria are controlled, in order to prevent them from getting out of hand?
Thanks for the comment! I think the only way to keep the bacteria contained is by keeping then in a facility similar to a recycling plant. I think this could be a great option for single use plastics that end up in landfills, but I agree that we should keep them out of the environment and in a contained and sterile facility.
This idea is very interesting. Solutions to world pollution have been a hot topic ever since we wondered where to put our trash, but using bacteria to mitigate its most abundant proponent, plastic, sounds like one step towards dealing with the problem. Currently, finding places that are far from human civilization and burning our trash sounds less and less sustainable, and using advances in technology, such as the advent of this bacteria, sounds like a great idea.
Thank you for the comment I totally agree! We have a huge issue that is only going to get bigger if we ignore it. I agree that it is harder to find places to put our trash as the human population is expanding and so plastic eating bacteria are definitely a option to combat this problem.
I find that this idea is very interesting. I think that the idea of plastic eating bacteria should definitely be implemented. It is so hard right now to recover so much plastic, and we need help in our help in any way to clean our planet. Do you think that the bacteria is safe, or could it cause harm?
thanks for the comment! I think that it might not be the best idea to let it out into the wild because it could have unforeseen consequences and we wouldn’t be able to undo our mistake. However, I think this could be a great way to reduce plastic in landfills or in the ocean if it is in a controlled environment.
I think this is a great idea, and its great to see that people’s ideas are being put to good use as they’re helping to create a solution to the worlds huge plastic crisis. This method is also effective in helping prevent further endangerment of animals whose lives are in danger as this plastic debris can be a choking hazard and cause many animals to die.
Thanks for the comment! I definitely agree that this could be a great was to combat the issue if it is properly implemented!