LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) - A team of researchers from UC San Diego has come up with a unique solution to help with the world's plastic problem.
They created a form of plastic that can basically recycle itself.
Dr. Adam Feist and Professor Jon Pokorski combined traditional polyurethane with a microbial spore to create plastic that can break down in compost or any other natural environment in around 5 months.
They published a paper this week in Nature Communicationsdetailing their process and results.
"There are some studies that show, of the millions, trillions of microbes out there, some can eat the plastic itself," says Feist. "So we were saying if we combine them together, what would happen? And how can that better facilitate that massive problem we have with polymers everywhere?"
"It's pretty awesome," adds Pokorski. "The way we engineered (the plastics) is to degrade themselves, so it doesn’t really matter where they’re disposed at the end of their lives. Once (the spores) are woken up they’re able to degrade."
The biodegradable plastic is just as durable and elastic as traditional polyurethane, with the ability to stretch up to 15 times its original size. It's similar to the plastic currently used in shoe soles and watch bands.
But unlike other plastic, their new blend almost completely decomposes much faster.
Pokorski and Feist say that will help the environment by eliminated waste. Recent reports show that not all of the plastic people put in the recycling bin actually gets recycled. A large percentage of it winds up in landfills or in the ocean.
They say plastic companies can start to mass-produce this kind of "self-eating" plastic right now, simply by adding the microbial spores to their existing ingredients. It's about 10% more expensive, but they believe that's worth it to help with pollution and climate change.
"Plastics are extremely useful for many applications in our life," says Feist. "But I think people are waking up to the fact that it’s really stable and doesn’t go away."
Click on the video above to see what the new plastic blend looks like and how it degrades over time.
