question for the biologists to possibly answer

[windemerejack]

Didn't know which forum to put this so just put it here.
Quite simply, is it possible that in the future, plastic eating bacteria will evolve in the oceans to eat all the plastic there is in the oceans or can the scientists 'make' a bacteria to eat it?

 

[PatW]

Plastics come in many different chemical formulations. Some plastics are already degraded by bacteria.

But if you look at natural biomolecules, bacteria and nearly everything has no trouble breaking down starch molecules. Few bacteria can break down chiton, cellulose and lignin.

As for plastics, currently most take very long periods of time to break down. Rapid break down is probably not happening in our life time.

 

[NanoDJS]

They already did , and Greta gets an award and not this awesome woman https://www.independent.co.uk/envir...is-environment-microbes-student-a8423146.html

 

[W1ngz]

The other side of this could well be, what if these bacteria get loose?
Many boat hulls are made of plastic shells.
You'll go outside one day and your trash bin will be gone, leaving just a pile of trash.
Your car will be falling apart because all the plastic fasteners that hold various things in place - gone.

How much different is polyester or nylon from hard plastic? Not very. There goes a lot of your clothes, but hopefully not while you're outside trying to pick up that trash at the curb after the mysteriously disappearing trash bin.

 

[windemerejack]

The other side of this could well be, what if these bacteria get loose?
Many boat hulls are made of plastic shells.
You'll go outside one day and your trash bin will be gone, leaving just a pile of trash.
Your car will be falling apart because all the plastic fasteners that hold various things in place - gone.

How much different is polyester or nylon from hard plastic? Not very. There goes a lot of your clothes, but hopefully not while you're outside trying to pick up that trash at the curb after the mysteriously disappearing trash bin.

Maybe the boffins can create a water borne bacteria and build ships hulls out of other materials. Surely if we care so much about the plastic pollution then these sort of things should be top priority.
I am no scientist and what little knowledge I have is from keeping fish tanks and reading, so is it beyond the realms of possibility to make things out of non plastic and create water borne bacteria?

 

[W1ngz]

these sort of things should be top priority

Should be, could be and will be are all very different universes with the number of anti-science people running countries and lobby groups these days.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I think plastic reduction will become a quicker reality now that china has stopped taking the worlds recycling, as no other country has the infrastructure to handle what is being produced.
Washington state and oregon relied on China to recyle 70% of their recyclables, as a result municipalities have been throwing your recycling in landfills or loading onto containers hoping someone will take them. The ships we sent to Malaysia and Vietnam have actually been sitting in ports after they refused to take them

The british isles has capacity to recycle about 20% of what they produce that current goals are for zero disposable plastics by 2030 in the UK.

What is already in the ocean sadly will become micro plastics before useful program to remove is found.

 

[BrandonS]

I miss the days when things where made of metal and wood. Bring on the plastic eating bacteria!!

 

[fish farmer]

I miss the days when things where made of metal and wood. Bring on the plastic eating bacteria!!

I remember a time when you got good sturdy PAPER bags from the supermarket. Bring those back...considering all the online product shipping is in paper boxes doesn't seem a stretch to go back to paper bags.

 

[windemerejack]

There is 1 supermarket that I know of here in the uk that is shifting towards paper bags but they are charging 25p per bag and I often hear people say 'im not paying 25p for a paper bag' and in the next breath they are complaining about the state of the planet, and we are supposed to be the intelligent species, I don't see any other species destroying itself and everything else around it.

 

[Gareth elliott]

There is 1 supermarket that I know of here in the uk that is shifting towards paper bags but they are charging 25p per bag and I often hear people say 'im not paying 25p for a paper bag' and in the next breath they are complaining about the state of the planet, and we are supposed to be the intelligent species, I don't see any other species destroying itself and everything else around it.

I started carrying tote bags in my trunk, buy on amazon and they are like 10 for a dollar or 2.
And
I think the world is starting with bags so the next largest pill is easier to swallow. Doing away with clamshells. Don’t quote me on the figure but the largest percentage of plastic waste is from clamshells to hold food, toys, etc. but its some

Walk down any refrigerated section and look at the plastic used to hold food, or the toy section of a department store. For that sandwich what can we replace that will hold the food long enough to sell, as well as be seen? Will you still buy a ready made item you cant see? Will the amount of thrown away food from less sealed packaging out pace the plastic waste? For toys, will sales drop if a kid cant see them?

Compostable plastics may eventually be the answer here but will require very real changes to our lifestyles. Simply burying these plastics, they biodegrade at such slow paces that your grandchildren could still dig them up. A professor actually did an experiment with compostable plastic bags and dug them up after a decade and they had no degradation at all. Active mulching, creatures like earth worms, proper attention to soil moisture are all required.

 

[BrandonS]

There is 1 supermarket that I know of here in the uk that is shifting towards paper bags but they are charging 25p per bag and I often hear people say 'im not paying 25p for a paper bag' and in the next breath they are complaining about the state of the planet, and we are supposed to be the intelligent species, I don't see any other species destroying itself and everything else around it.

They have been doing that in california for a few years now. I have a stack of reusable bags. But sometimes you forget.

 

[windemerejack]

They have been doing that in california for a few years now. I have a stack of reusable bags. But sometimes you forget.

This is the uk, we are behind in just about everything

 

[BrandonS]

I started carrying tote bags in my trunk, buy on amazon and they are like 10 for a dollar or 2.
And
I think the world is starting with bags so the next largest pill is easier to swallow. Doing away with clamshells. Don’t quote me on the figure but the largest percentage of plastic waste is from clamshells to hold food, toys, etc. but its some

Walk down any refrigerated section and look at the plastic used to hold food, or the toy section of a department store. For that sandwich what can we replace that will hold the food long enough to sell, as well as be seen? Will you still buy a ready made item you cant see? Will the amount of thrown away food from less sealed packaging out pace the plastic waste? For toys, will sales drop if a kid cant see them?

Compostable plastics may eventually be the answer here but will require very real changes to our lifestyles. Simply burying these plastics, they biodegrade at such slow paces that your grandchildren could still dig them up. A professor actually did an experiment with compostable plastic bags and dug them up after a decade and they had no degradation at all. Active mulching, creatures like earth worms, proper attention to soil moisture are all required.

problem is everything is packaged a way to make us buy it. When psychologists got into it to make more money for the companies that is when we saw all this packaging.

 

[BrandonS]

This is the uk, we are behind in just about everything

You guys are ahead in many other things some would say. Hopefully the world all moves forward together on this

 

[Silent]

I started carrying tote bags in my trunk, buy on amazon and they are like 10 for a dollar or 2.
And
I think the world is starting with bags so the next largest pill is easier to swallow. Doing away with clamshells. Don’t quote me on the figure but the largest percentage of plastic waste is from clamshells to hold food, toys, etc. but its some

Walk down any refrigerated section and look at the plastic used to hold food, or the toy section of a department store. For that sandwich what can we replace that will hold the food long enough to sell, as well as be seen? Will you still buy a ready made item you cant see? Will the amount of thrown away food from less sealed packaging out pace the plastic waste? For toys, will sales drop if a kid cant see them?

Compostable plastics may eventually be the answer here but will require very real changes to our lifestyles. Simply burying these plastics, they biodegrade at such slow paces that your grandchildren could still dig them up. A professor actually did an experiment with compostable plastic bags and dug them up after a decade and they had no degradation at all. Active mulching, creatures like earth worms, proper attention to soil moisture are all required.

Don't forget plastic straws are a major concern also.

 

[windemerejack]

Don't forget plastic straws are a major concern also.

Yeah I notice when I go to Mexico on holiday they have stopped using plastic straws in a lot of the hotels and use cardboard ones or none at all.
Every bit helps.

 

[paraletho]

There is 1 supermarket that I know of here in the uk that is shifting towards paper bags but they are charging 25p per bag and I often hear people say 'im not paying 25p for a paper bag' and in the next breath they are complaining about the state of the planet, and we are supposed to be the intelligent species, I don't see any other species destroying itself and everything else around it.

Quit going to stores grow your own food or buy off of the truck farm. Problem solved! Oh sorry wrong century! Setting the dial going baaaac……

 

[windemerejack]

Quit going to stores grow your own food or buy off of the truck farm. Problem solved! Oh sorry wrong century! Setting the dial going baaaac……

Not quite sure of your point? would you elaborate?

 

[paraletho]

Not quite sure of your point? would you elaborate?

If you raise your own food like I do or swap with my neighbors for what I need there is no need for bags. Glass bowls and cotton twine takes care of it all. I am only 72 so what do I know, haven’t gathered enough life experience yet. My father who passed in 2018 held a Phd. in Organic Chemistry from Stanford University was one of the pioneers of plastic. Some of his last words to me were apologies for creating the monster that is plastic.