South Korean scientists have developed a new method to break down one of the world’s most common types of plastic, BusinessKorea reported. This advance could have major implications in plastic recycling.
Polyethylene terephthalate, more commonly known as PET plastic, is one of the most common types of plastic, used in everyday items such as plastic soda and water bottles, clothing, seat belts, etc. . It is usually made from crude oil and causes environmental damage at every stage of its production and life cycle.
In order to recycle PET plastics more efficiently, scientists have developed a biocatalyst (a substance that increase the rate of a chemical reaction) named KUBU-M12, capable of breaking down plastic in a way that mimics the way natural substances decompose.
They reported that KUBU-M12 was capable of achieving the highest performance ever recorded for a biocatalyst for plastic decomposition.
“This is a revolutionary technology that enables permanent recycling, even of contaminated plastics that cannot be recycled,” said Professor Kim Kyung-jin, co-research leader, Department of Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University.
If it is vital that our society moves away from traditional plastic productsInstead of adopting some of the many alternatives that currently exist, there is still a surprising amount of petroleum-derived plastic, and it’s not going anywhere on its own.
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So it stands to reason that we need ways to effectively recycle this plastic instead of just letting it accumulate in our landfills, in the environment and in our oceans, where it is responsible for killing huge amounts of people. marine life every year.
In the United States, as little as 5% plastic waste is actually recycled, according to Beyond Plastics, whether you bother to sort it or not. Although it still requires some political will to achieve this, improved recycling technologies could incentivize some governments to improve these figures.
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