Here's today's feel-good story:
This one in honor of Earth Day!
Most biodegradable plastics take months to break down and form microplastics when they do that can end up in oceans and animal bodies.
Scientists at the Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have invented an enzyme-activated compostable plastic that could diminish microplastics from polluting the earth and shows great promise for plastic upcycling.
“In the wild, enzymes are what nature uses to break things down—and even when we die, enzymes cause our bodies to decompose naturally. So for this study, we asked ourselves, ‘How can enzymes biodegrade plastic so it’s part of nature?” said the senior author Ting Xu.