Degradable plastics that can be discarded with food residues will be placed on shelves for five years, as long as scientists can find the original way to use 'gum' for packaging.
Researchers at Warwick University in the United Kingdom have discovered a natural colloid called lignin, which combines fiber-reinforced fibers to harden trees and can also be made into hard and malleable plastics. Wood ropes are a by-product of papermaking. It is very useful for plants, but it makes the wood pulp paper brittle and quickly discolored, so it will be removed.
The lignin in its natural state is useless, but Professor Tim Bagh of Warwick University invented a method to turn this gel into a useful chemical with genetically modified bacteria.
He found that a species of Rhodococcus, which is found in the soil, feeds on the gum and genetically alters the bacteria to make it a lot of degradable plastics.
Professor Bagh told a presentation on how to deal with the global problem of discarded plastics in central London: 'I have been studying lignin for 40 years. At the beginning, people said 'you are wasting time', but now they think it is there. Possible. Still difficult, but it is possible.'
Only a few organics can break down the wood rope, and Professor Bagh's team used the genetic material of the two strains to speed up the process. He added: 'This bacteria usually grows on lignin and breaks it down into small molecules for food. We Trying to intercept this process and let it do something for us while growing. Lignin is complex and decomposes to get a complex mixture, but fortunately these bacteria can bring everything together. We hope that in five years Can produce results. '
The government is committed to stopping plastic disasters and is committed to ban single-use products. Plastics are increasingly accumulating in the oceans, endangering marine life. Plastics are known to be difficult to degrade. Only 12% of domestic waste is reprocessed, and other waste is burned or landfilled.
British Prime Minister Teresa May announced in April this year that she would look for a new way to solve this problem with £60 million. She called plastic waste 'one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the world'.
The world produces more than 300 million tons of plastic per year, 10% of which flows to the sea. It is estimated that the ratio of plastic to plankton is currently 1:2. If it is not controlled, the weight of plastic will exceed that of fish by 2050.