Plastic Degradation by Bacteria

Do you know what Ideonella sakaiensis is

The bacteria, Ideonella sakaiensis, was found by a team of scientists at a Japanese plastic bottle recycling plant (It is named after Sakai, the city where it was found). It eats one of the world’s most common plastics, polyethylene terephalate (PET), found in water bottles.Globally, we produce more than 50 million tons of PET each year, but only 9% gets recycled

PET is notoriously resistant to biodegradation, but Ideonella sakaiensis is proven to break PET’s molecular bonds in as little as six weeks. It does so using two enzymes: first, the bacteria attaches itself to the PET surface and emits one enzyme, producing an intermediary chemical. Next, a second enzyme breaks the chemical down even more, generating carbon and energy for the bacteria’s growth

Ref: www.plasticplace.com

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