Annually, the world produces 400 million tons of plastic waste, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said.
Researchers in Texas have created an enzyme variant that can break down plastics that would typically take hundreds of years to dissolve in a matter of hours or days.
The creation by officials at The University of Texas at Austin could solve the problem of how to rid the world of billions of tons of plastic piling up in landfills and polluting natural lands and water.
“The possibilities are endless across industries to leverage this leading-edge recycling process,” Hal Alper, professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at UT Austin said in a statement. “Beyond the obvious waste management industry, this also provides corporations from every sector the opportunity to take a lead in recycling their products. Through these more sustainable enzyme approaches, we can begin to envision a true circular plastics economy.”
