Observing that ordinary plastic does degrade, but takes a thousand years to do so, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Ontario, reasoned that he might speed up the process by selectively breeding the microbes responsible to break down plastic much more quickly. By immersing ground plastic in a yeast solution that encourages microbial growth, and then isolating the most productive organisms and interbreeding them, he managed to bring about a 43% degradation in six weeks – an unheard-of achievement.
The process holds promise of solving the growing problem of plastic pollution of the environment, and won its inventor first prize in the Canadian Science Fair last month.
(Source: Mother Nature Network) | For further info...
