Breaking down climate barriers with an appetite for plastic

Enzymes that salivate over plastic will hopefully soon play their part in Australia's embattled recycling industry.

Australia’s biggest soft plastic recycling program and go-to bag drop for supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths halted its collection services this week after it was found to be stockpiling, not servicing, the waste. REDcycle cited lack of demand (and a factory fire) for the shutdown. The departure comes as new players enter the market with quite the appetite for plastic recycling.  

Australian enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco is moving away from traditional melt-and-reform methods of recycling to enzymes that break down plastic as a part of their daily diet.