Most people are aware that we cannot recycle plastic forks and wrappers. Ting Xu has developed technology so this could be a possibility. With heat, enzyme-laced films of plastic can be disintegrated in normal compost or tap water within days to weeks. She notes that “biodegradability does not equal compostability.” Most biodegradable plastic ends up in landfills, where the conditions aren’t right for them to break down, causing them to degrade the same as normal plastics. Embedding the polymer enzymes in biodegradable plastics should accelerate decomposition. There was an issue with the initial test, which shows the enzyme clumps together, randomly breaking down certain molecule chains; resulting in an incomplete breakdown. Xu added a degradable additive to the enzyme that made it so the enzymes would not clump together. The new test showed the enzymes grabbed the ends of the plastics molecular chains and severed every chain link, preventing microplastic formation. The weight of the enzyme is 0.02% of the plastic’s weight. Granted this technology does not work on all plastics, it is an innovation. Xu hopes this technology is used for commercialized plastic grocery bags.
Drahl, C. (2021, April 21). A new technique could make some plastic trash compostable at home. Science News. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/plastic-compost-new-enzyme-technique-biodegradable
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