## 1 Introduction  
From every piece of plastic ever created, around 80% still exist today [1]. Of the 6.3 billion tons of fossil fuel-derived plastic (FFP) waste produced to date, only 9% has been recycled, 12% has been incinerated, and 79% has been deposited in landfills or the natural environment [2, 3]. Global plastics production reached approximately 360 million tons in 2018, with roughly 50% disposed of after a single use [4]. In Europe, 62 million tons of plastics were produced in 2018, where 9.4 million tons of plastic post-consumer waste collected to be recycled (a 92% increase since 2006) [5]. The poor plastic waste management seen worldwide has provoked extended micro- and nano-plastic pollution in marine environments, mainly caused by the fragmentation of plastics. The ubiquitous presence of microplastics has been reported in freshwater, pristine, remote, and even atmospheric systems. The abundance of nanoplastics reported in the food chain is very concerning for wildlife and human health [6]. Polyesters constitute a major class of plastics, and they are widely used as beverage bottles, packaging, and textiles. Currently, the polyesters on the market are dominated by those containing aromatic units (e.g., terephthalate) in their backbones, which are essential for their superior thermal and mechanical properties [7]. Terephthalatic acid (TPA) or its derivative dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) are widely used as precursors for the synthesis of aromatic polyesters. For instance, the most used polyester, poly(ethylene) terephthalate (PET), is synthesized by polymerizing TPA or DMT with ethylene glycol. It is commonly used for synthetic fibers in the textile industry and packaging [8; 9; 10]. Poly(butylene) terephthalate (PBT) is another aromatic polyester synthesized from TPA (or DMT) and 1,4-butanediol which is widely used in electrical engineering as plug connectors, household devices like irons, and sportswear due to its physical properties. Recently, a more flexible aromatic polyester, poly(hexamethylene) terephthalate (PHT) has attracted growing attention due to its potential in semiconductor materials [11; 12; 13]. Another recent trend in the development of aromatic polyesters in the industry is toward more durable high-T\({}_{\text{g}}\) materials, such as AkestraTM (Perstorp AB), PETG (Sumitomo), and TritanTM (Eastman Co.) [14; 15; 16]. Biodegradation is considered eco-friendly and, in the future, an economically favorable recycling method compared with landfills, chemical recycling, and thermal treatment [17; 18]. Enzymatic degradation of plastics could aid in the biological recycling of these waste products [19], reducing energy use, by-product release, and greenhouse gas emissions compared with virgin polyester manufacturing [20]. Enzymatic recycling technologies are predicted to generate long-term socioeconomic benefits, such as added economic value and a number of jobs distributed along the supply chain [20]. As polyesters constitute 60% of the total global synthetic fiber production, there is growing concern for efficient biodegradation of recalcitrant synthetic polymers like PET and other aromatic terephthalate polyesters [18; 21]. Enzymes with PET-depolymerizing activity have been found to be mainly from the carboxylic ester hydrolases family (EC 3.1.1.-). The first study in 2005 reported 50% degradation of low-crystallinity (9%) PET after three weeks by using the hydrolase TTH from the actinomycete _Thermobifada fusca_ at 55 \({}^{\circ}\)C, adding fresh enzyme every week [22]. Since then, other thermostable esterases have shown effective PET depolymerizing activity in shorter periods [23]. More recently (in 2020), an engineered form of leaf and branch compost cutinase (LCC) has attracted attention for its outstanding PET depolymerizing activity, degrading up to 90% of amorphized and micronized PET in 10 at 72 \({}^{\circ}\)C [24]. At lower temperatures, in 2016, a novel mesophilic bacterium _Ideonella sakaiensis_ 201-F6 was found to use PET as its main carbon and energy source [19].