TheVoiceOfJoyce it has been accidentally found by several researchers, that wax worms, and larve, contain polyethylene and PET plastic, degrading enzymes. We have Tonnes of plastics floating in the oceans and blanketing our earth. Imagine synthesizing enzymes to degrade the existing plastics and creating new products. The fact that we would stop using petroleum to manufacture new products, offsets the cost of synthesizing new plastics. A new methodology, to create new products, without adding additional carbon emissions is a necessity for our survival.

Posted on by jaslvr

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/04/wax-worm-saliva-rapidly-breaks-down-plastic-bags-scientists-discover

The discovery came after one scientist, an amateur beekeeper, cleaned out an infested hive and found the larvae started eating holes in a plastic refuse bag. The researchers said the study showed insect saliva may be “a depository of degrading enzymes which could revolutionise [the cleanup of polluting waste]”.

Polyethylene makes up 30% of all plastic production and is used in bags and other packaging that make up a significant part of worldwide plastic pollution. The only recycling at scale today uses mechanical processes and creates lower-value products.

Chemical breakdown could create valuable chemicals or, with some further processing, new plastic, thereby avoiding the need for new virgin plastic made from oil. The enzymes can be easily synthesised and overcome a bottleneck in plastic degradation, the researchers said, which is the initial breaking of the polymer chains. That usually requires a lot of heating, but the enzymes work at normal temperatures, in water and at neutral pH.

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