Plastic is everywhere in modern life. According to the United Nations, 474 million tons of plastic is produced every year around the world, two thirds of which is only used for a short period of time before being thrown away. Discarded plastic can persist in the environment for decades or even centuries.
But what if plastic could be designed to disappear after it’s served its purpose? Researchers at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology in China are now developing what they call "living plastics" that can destroy themselves when their job is done.
In a study recently published in the journal ACS Applied Polymer Materials, the researchers created a new material containing dormant spores of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis embedded directly into the plastic. Under normal conditions, the spores remain inactive, allowing the material to perform just like conventional plastic. But when exposed to a specific trigger, the spores awaken and begin producing enzymes that break the plastic apart.
Unlike earlier designs that relied on a single enzyme, the researchers engineered the bacteria to make two enzymes that work together. One cuts long polymer chains into smaller pieces, while the second breaks those pieces down into their original molecular building blocks. This two-step process prevents the formation of harmful microplastics.
In laboratory tests, the living plastic completely decomposed in just six days after activation.
Living plastics could one day make plastic products far less permanent than they are today.
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References:
New “living plastic” self-destructs in just 6 days without leaving microplastics
