Scientists in South Korea have developed a new method of decomposing one of the world's most common types of plastic, BusinessKorea reported. The breakthrough could have major implications in plastic recycling.
Polyethylene terephthalate, more commonly known as PET plastic, is one of the more ubiquitous types of plastic, used in everyday items such as plastic soda and water bottles, clothing, seatbelts, and more. It is usually made from crude oil and causes environmental harm at every stage of its production and life cycle.
In order to recycle PET plastics more efficiently, scientists developed a biocatalyst (a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction) named KUBU-M12, which is able to break down plastic in a way that mimics how natural substances decompose.
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Definitely 👍 They reported KUBU-M12 was able to achieve the highest-ever recorded performance for a biocatalyst for plastic decomposition.
"This is a groundbreaking technology that enables permanent recycling of even contaminated plastics that cannot be recycled," said research co-lead Professor Kim Kyung-jin of the Department of Biotechnology at Kyungpook National University.
While it is vital that our society moves away from traditional plastic products, instead embracing some of the many alternatives that now exist, there is still an astonishing amount of oil-derived plastic in existence, and it's not going anywhere on its own.
So, it stands to reason that we need ways to recycle this plastic efficiently instead of just letting it pile up in our landfills, in the environment, and in our oceans, where it is responsible for killing huge amounts of marine life every year.
In the United States, as little as 5% of plastic waste actually gets recycled, per Beyond Plastics — whether you go through the trouble of sorting it or not. While it would still require some amount of political will to actually make it happen, enhanced recycling technologies could spur some governments to improve those numbers.
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