Enzymes Offer Hope For Plastic Waste

A new recycling approach based on superbugs can break down a range of plastics into a reusable form.

A startup called Samsara Eco has developed an enzyme technology that it says will enable the infinite recycling of plastics, eliminating the need to keep producing new plastic.

The biocatalyst technology, developed in collaboration with researchers at the Australian National University (ANU), can break down used plastic into its original chemical building blocks, which means it can be recycled over and over without degradation.

Using conventional recycling methods, plastic can only be recycled a few times before it loses its integrity. While traditional recycling uses physical methods to shred and melt plastics, Samsara’s enzymes chemically break down plastic – including coloured plastic – into a clear product.

Once it has been broken down to its core building blocks it can then be used to recreate brand new plastic. Samsara Eco says its plastic-eating enzymes can rapidly turn plastics into resin beads with no structural degradation, which manufacturers can reuse to create new food-grade plastics and polyester.

The upside, they say, is that we will never have to create plastic from virgin materials like fossil fuels again and means the plastic that would normally end up in our oceans and landfill can be reused.