Summary Reader Response Draft 3

According to the article “Plastic-eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste” (UT News, 2022), scientists from the University of Texas at Austin have discovered a plastic-eating enzyme that could potentially eliminate tons of plastic waste. From the article, the enzyme, Ideonella Sakaiensis has the ability to break down one of the most commonly used plastics, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The discovery of a plastic-eating enzyme was made at a recycling centre in Japan, and it was later improved to make it more effective in decomposing plastic. As more time is put into further development, researchers are optimistic that the enzyme can be used on a wider scale during the industrial recycling process. Although PET is used everywhere around us, it is not biodegradable and takes beyond a human’s lifespan to break down. In the context of this article, global PET recycling efforts should primarily rely on the benefits of plastic-eating enzymes instead of traditional methods to promote a more environmentally sustainable solution for the disposal of plastic, a circular economy through reducing plastic waste sent to landfills, and lastly, the reduction of processing time for recycling plastic waste.

One of the benefits of plastic-eating enzymes is their ability to promote a more environmentally sustainable solution for the disposal of plastic. Plastic-eating enzyme uses a biological process called “circular process” to break down plastic into smaller parts and chemically transform them into reusable plastic (Snider, 2022). The process of breaking down plastic through plastic-eating enzymes is environmentally friendly as it does not produce any toxic or harmful chemicals that could pollute the environment. On the other hand, traditional methods such as incineration emit harmful pollutants into the atmosphere which causes negative impacts on the environment (Kokkinidis, 2022). By using plastic-eating enzymes, it helps to reduce plastic pollution and minimizes the harmful effects on the environment.

Moreover, plastic-eating enzymes promote a circular economy by reducing plastic waste sent to landfills. A circular economy is an economic system that aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible and reuse them without the need of generating waste or harm to the environment (Worrell, 2023). Since the plastic-eating enzyme is able to break down plastic into molecules, it gives the opportunity to produce the same or even higher quality plastic (Marshall, 2022). By utilizing plastic-eating enzymes, it allows the plastic to be recycled and reused to its fullest extent. This not only helps to minimize the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills and the environment but also reduces the need to rely on new raw materials and creates new economic opportunities for the recycling industry.

Another benefit of using plastic-eating enzymes is that it reduces the processing time needed for recycling plastic waste. According to the article “This AI-Designed Enzyme Can Devour Plastic Trash in Hours: Video” (Vetter, 2022), the total time required for waste plastic to be broken down by plastic-eating enzyme is below 24 hours while the traditional method of recycling could take centuries to do so as it has many steps and processes that needs to be carried out before the plastic can be reused. With the help of plastic-eating enzymes, the recycling process is significantly faster and more efficient.

However, one of the major drawbacks of using plastic-eating enzymes to reduce plastic waste is that they often only work under stringent conditions such as specific temperatures, environments, or even time periods (Muresianu, 2022). Scientist have discovered that there are limitations to its usage as they are unable to work optimally in low temperatures and varying pH levels. On top of this, untreated plastic waste can impact the effectiveness of direct treatment and reaction rates (Lavars, 2022). This can make it challenging to implement plastic-eating enzymes as it can be costly and inconvenient at a large industrial scale, particularly when the conditions required are difficult to create.

In conclusion, the use of plastic-eating enzymes offers several benefits over traditional methods, such as promoting a more environmentally sustainable solution when disposing of plastic, promoting a circular economy by reducing plastic waste sent to landfills, and reducing the processing time needed for recycling plastic waste. However, the limitations of plastic-eating enzymes include their requirement of specific conditions to work effectively, which can make them difficult to implement on a large scale. Despite this, the potential benefits of plastic-eating enzymes far outweigh the drawbacks and by relying on plastic-eating enzymes, the world can reduce its reliance on traditional recycling and take steps toward a greener future.

 

References

Kokkinidis, T. (2022, May. 5). Plastic Eating Enzyme Could Help Reduce World Pollution. GreekReporter. https://greekreporter.com/2022/05/05/plastic-eating-enzyme/

Lavars, N. (2022, April 27). Fast-acting enzyme breaks down plastics in as little as 24 hours. NewAtlas. https://newatlas.com/environment/fast-acting-enzyme-plastics-24-hours/

Marshall, M. (2022, February 5). How ‘super-enzymes’ that eat plastics could curb our waste problem. TheGuardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/05/how-super-enzymes-that-eat-plastics-could-curb-our-waste-problem

Muresianu, T. (2022, May 28). Why haven’t plastic-eating bacteria fixed the plastic problem yet?. FreeThink. https://www.freethink.com/energy/plastic-eating-bacteria#:~:text=They%20cost%20too%20much.,plastic%20is%20already%20really%20cheap.

Snider, M. (2022, May. 3). A plastic-eating enzyme could help clean up landfills by breaking down bottles, containers. USAToday. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/05/03/plastic-eating-enzyme-pollution/9633254002/

UT News. (2022, April 27). Plastic-eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste. https://news.utexas.edu/2022/04/27/plastic-eating-enzyme-could-eliminate-billions-of-tons-of-landfill-waste/

Vetter, D. (2022, Apr. 28). This AI-Designed Enzyme Can Devour Plastic Trash In Hours: Video. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2022/04/28/scientists-use-ai-to-make-an-enzyme-that-eats-plastic-trash-in-hours-video/?sh=c9d7a05da6b7

Worrell, T. (2023, January 22). Scientists discover plastic-gobbling enzyme that can break down trash in 24 hours: ‘revolutionize how we deal with waste’. TheCoolDown. https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/plastic-eating-enzyme-can-break-down-waste-in-24-hours/


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