SCIENTISTS HAVE CREATED an enzyme capable of digesting some of the most common types of plastics that pollute the Earth.

The discovery happened accidentally when researchers from Britain’s University of Portsmouth and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory were examining an enzyme found in a recycling center several years ago in Japan, according to the Energy Department lab.

Researchers unintentionally manipulated the enzyme, making it more successful at breaking down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the material from which millions of plastic bottles are constructed. PET is one of the most common pollutants in the environment. Patented as plastic in the 1940s, the material is not biodegradable.

In a press release, the University of Portsmouth said that the discovery could result in an efficient recycling solution for the millions of plastic bottles that still persist in the environment. There are currently millions of tons of plastic bottles that will last for hundreds of years without breaking down.

During their research, senior scientist Bryon Donohoe and researcher Nic Rorrer tested how the enzyme, called PETase, broke down PET in plastic soda bottles.

“After just 96 hours, you can see clearly via electron microscopy that the PETase is degrading PET,” said Donohoe in NREL’s release. “And this test is using real examples of what is found in the oceans and landfills.”

The researchers are now working on improving the enzyme to be able to break down plastics at the industrial scale at a fraction of its current rate. John McGeehan, a scientist involved in the discovery and the director of the Institute of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at the university, gave his findings. McGeehan said when PET was patented there was no way to predict how much plastic pollution would be present today.

“Few could have predicted that since plastics became popular in the 1960s huge plastic waste patches would be found floating in oceans, or washed up on once pristine beaches all over the world,” McGeehan said in the university’s release. “We can all play a significant part in dealing with the plastic problem, but the scientific community who ultimately created these ‘wonder-materials,’ must now use all the technology at their disposal to develop real solutions.”

Plastics Made from Plants Could Solve the World’s Waste Problem

An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste, including PET bottles, enter the ocean each year. By 2050, there will be as much plastic in the ocean by mass as there is fish. This creates huge man-made islands of plastic in parts of oceans all over the world.

Researchers also discovered that PETase can degrade polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF), which is commonly used as a substitute for PET and is hailed as a replacement for glass bottles.

“Serendipity often plays a significant role in fundamental scientific research and our discovery here is no exception,” McGeehan said. “Although the improvement is modest, this unanticipated discovery suggests that there is room to further improve these enzymes, moving us closer to a recycling solution for the ever-growing mountain of discarded plastics.”

Recycling is important because we want to leave this planet as healthy as possible for future generations. Recycling is good for the environment because we are making new products from old products which are no longer of use to us. Recycling begins at home. If you are not throwing away any of your old product and instead utilizing it for something new then you are recycling. When you think of recycling you should really think about the whole idea; reduce, reuse and recycle.

Why we recycle:
• To help keep our environment clean
• To conserve and save energy
• It reduces garbage in landfills

Recycling is good for the environment, in the sense, we are using old and waste products which are of no use and then converting them back to the same new products. Since we are saving resources and are sending less trash to the landfills, it helps in reducing air and water pollution. Energy saving is important if we are to reduce the future effects of global warming. If we
recycle one aluminum can, we are able to save enough energy to run a TV for around 3 hours. This will obviously depend on the energy consumption of your TV, but it gives you a great idea as to just how much energy can be saved during the process of recycling products.

It is believed that (the U.S.) cut approximately 40 million newspapers each day, leading to the equivalent of about half a million trees ending in landfills every week. We’ve been careless up to this point with the way we’ve treated the Earth and it’s time to change; not just the way we do things but the way we think. Paper, plastic, glass, aluminum cans are examples of some products that are recycled in large quantities.

When you think of recycling you should really think about the whole idea; reduce, reuse and recycle. Think about it; if you don’t need it, don’t get it. If you have to get it, get something that can be used again and if you get something that needs to be recycled by the professionals, put it in the recycle bin. Conservation is an important part of the recycling issue. When you produce less garbage it helps in reducing the landfills and also
helps in giving the land back to nature.
Recycling serves 2 purposes: First, it avoids landfills and helps in reducing air and water pollution and secondly, valuable material like aluminum cans and plastic and glass are reused in other forms and not wasted. Be mindful of what you do, pay attention to the items you buy and always check yourself to see if you really need it or if it comes in a package with less waste. We can all do our part and we will make a huge difference.

What Can We People Do?
There is a handful number of things that you could do to save this planet.
1. Throw away all the garbage in your house that is of no use to you or you think you can’t utilize it in some other way. If you don’t have these boxes, you can easily purchase a suitable container for each recyclable product (e.g. paper, plastic, and glass), and then take these down to your local recycling center.
2. Try to avoid the use of plastic bag and plastic paper as much as possible. They not only pollute the environment but also helps in filling landfills. Also, when you shop try to look out for the products that have least packaging. Every millions of dollars are spent only in packaging of these products which ultimately go to the garbage sites.

How to Effectively Recycle Construction Waste

Recycling is important because we want to leave this planet as healthy as possible for future generations. Because we are making new products from old, unwanted ones, we are contributing to the well-being of the environment. If you are not throwing away any of your old products and instead utilizing them for something new, you are one step closer to recycling. Baltimore Recycling Center has put together a few tips for recycling construction waste.

Why we recycle:

• To help keep our environment clean
• To conserve and save energy
• It reduces garbage in landfills

Recycling is good for the environment in the sense that we are using old and waste products and converting them back to the same new products. Since we are saving resources and sending less trash to the landfills, we are also helping to reduce air and water pollution. Dust, Paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum cans are examples of some products that are recycled in large quantities. Energy saving is important if we are to reduce the future effects of global warming. If we

recycle one aluminum can, we are able to save enough energy to run a TV for around 3 hours. This will obviously depend on the energy consumption of your TV, but it gives you a great idea as to just how much energy can be saved during the process of recycling products.

It is believed that the U.S. cut approximately 40 million newspapers each day, leading to the equivalent of about half a million trees ending in landfills every week. We’ve been careless up to this point with the way we’ve treated the Earth and it’s time to change: not just the way we do things, but also the way we think. 

When you think of recycling, you should really think about the whole idea: reduce, reuse and recycle. Think about it: if you don’t need it, don’t get it. If you have to get it, get something that can be used again. And, if you get something that needs to be recycled by the professionals, put it in the recycle bin. Conservation is an important part of the recycling issue. When you produce less garbage, you are helping reduce the contents of landfills, while also helping in giving the land back to nature.

Recycling serves two purposes: First, it avoids landfills and helps in reducing air and water pollution. Secondly, valuable materials like aluminum cans, plastic, and glass are reused in other forms and not wasted. Be mindful of what you do. Pay attention to the items you buy, and always check yourself to see if you really need them or if it comes in a package with less waste. We can all do our part and we will make a huge difference.

What Can We People Do?

There are a handful of things that you could do to save this planet.

1. Throw away all the garbage in your house that is of no use to you or you think you can’t utilize it in some other way. If you don’t have these boxes, you can easily purchase a suitable container for each recyclable product (e.g. paper, plastic, and glass), and then take these down to your local recycling center.

2. Try to avoid the use of plastic bags and plastic paper as much as possible. They not only pollute the environment but also helps in filling landfills. Also, when you shop try to look out for the products that have the least packaging. Millions of dollars are spent on the packaging of these products alone, which ultimately go to the garbage sites.