I first became truly horrified at America's addiction to plastic and its already-hugely deleterious effects when I read Best Life's stunning piece on our Plastic Ocean. One of the most dangerous elements of plastic is that it almost never goes away. Plastic bags are made of polyethylene, which micro-organisms don't break down like organic material. They can also be poisonous, making for a dangerous combination not only for nature, but also for humanity.
Since then, I've tried my best to reduce my usage of plastic in all aspects of my life, whether it be bringing a reusable bag to the supermarket or cutting down on the amount of bottled water I buy. Nonetheless, as shockingly depicted by Chris Jordan, America's collective usage of plastic continues unabated.
Enter Daniel Burd, a 16-year old boy who isolated the microorganisms that degrade plastic...as part of a science project:
Daniel, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, got the idea for his project from everyday life. "Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have this avalanche of plastic bags falling on top of me," he said. "One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags."The answer: not much. So he decided to do something himself.
Could this be the first step to ending our plastic problem? What do you guys think?
Read the Link for details on Daniel's experiments.
Since then, I've tried my best to reduce my usage of plastic in all aspects of my life, whether it be bringing a reusable bag to the supermarket or cutting down on the amount of bottled water I buy. Nonetheless, as shockingly depicted by Chris Jordan, America's collective usage of plastic continues unabated.
Enter Daniel Burd, a 16-year old boy who isolated the microorganisms that degrade plastic...as part of a science project:
Daniel, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, got the idea for his project from everyday life. "Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have this avalanche of plastic bags falling on top of me," he said. "One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags."The answer: not much. So he decided to do something himself.
Could this be the first step to ending our plastic problem? What do you guys think?
Read the Link for details on Daniel's experiments.
otherwise, i think this would be a great breakthrough because plastics are evil and the floating island between california and hawaii proves it.
So growing these bacterium in large numbers doesn't seem like a good idea on the surface. On the other hand, we're all probably growing them right now on our shower curtain.
But perhaps certain strains could be found that don't pose a threat and still retain the ability to degrade polyethelene. Certainly worth researching, hopefully someone will.
And continuing to choke the oceans with plastic does?
I'm impressed with the project. Science classes must've changed quite a bit since I was in high school.
If your too lazy to stuff all your plastics sacks into one and carry it with you to the store and deposit it before you go grocert shopping, I don't know about you.
Its too easy.
Wonderful advancement... if we can keep it contained...
But plastic is essentially a major building block of our civilization right now, and if these things evolve to and/or are tailored to be more efficient at breaking it down...
One day, hopefully not anytime in the next few million years, we'll have to defend everything we own against bacteria and whatnot out to get it. I'd rather not see it in my lifetime due to our meddling lol.
Another way is the bureaucratic French way : in 2010 grocery plastic bags will be outlawed. Simple, yet... simple.
Hey; a whole new market for these bugs!
recycling, while abmirable, is ultimately -- utilizing current technologies -- wasteful. this plastic dehration process seems as of it involves few, if any, hazardous waste products and/or unneccesary resource expenditure.