How does recycling using enzymes work?
Channel: Scienceline
Date: 2021-02-04

Recycling plastic requires a big team — from people disposing of used plastic containers in the correct bins, to the workers transporting it to recycling plants, to companies using recycled plastics in their products. All these people might soon have a new member on team recycling: bacteria. 

Some researchers and companies are trying to use bacteria to recycle plastics in a new way. The process, called enzymatic recycling, employs enzymes that were initially produced by these bacteria to break down the plastics. Researchers have recently learned more about how these enzymes work, and are developing ways to employ them in commercial recycling programs.

So, how does enzymatic recycling work? And how is it different from the way we recycle plastics today?

For more information about this article, visit https://scienceline.org/2021/02/how-does-recycling-using-enzymes-work

Animations and Script: Casey Crownhart
Music: "Ingravity" by Jahzzar, CC BY-SA 3.0
Special Thanks to: 
Gregg Beckham
Susan Selke
Crystal Howe
Dale Handlin