Every year, humans produce about 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste, almost double what was produced in 2000. Unlike organic material, synthetic plastics are created to be resilient and hard to break down. This is what makes it a useful material, but also makes it extremely difficult to dispose of, contributing to a crisis that is unfolding before our very eyes.
It is estimated that plastic material takes between 20 and 500 years to fully decompose. The “throw-away” culture that exists, coupled with a lack of effective waste management means there is almost nowhere on Earth where you will not find traces of plastic, including the deepest oceanic trenches and highest mountain tops. In 2022, microplastics were also discovered in human blood, and more recently traces have been found found inside human brains. To help give some perspective, it is estimated that the average person can consume between 78 000 and 211 000 microplastics every year. This is a staggering figure, and microplastic consumption has already been linked to global increases in infertility and incidence of other health defects. In March 2022, at the UN Environment Assembly, 175 countries agreed to end plastic pollution. There are numerous companies operating today such as Operation Clean Sweep and The Ocean Cleanup which are helping to remove and prevent plastic waste from entering the environment. However, with global plastic waste on the rise and decomposition rates exponentially exceeding production, a large and lucrative market has been created for a novel, innovative solution for plastic waste management.
Governments and biotechs are investing in bioremediation, as the science of using living organisms to remove pollutants is known and proven, with the market expected to grow by $8.29 billion between 2023 and 2028. As is often the case in the recent biotechnological revolution, the answer to the plastic problem is being addressed through genetically manipulating bacteria, the most notable company pioneering the way being Carbios. In 2016, the plastic biorecyclicing field exploded into mainstream media, with the discovery of a new bacterial species: Ideonella sakaiensis. This bacteria was found by chance in a Japanese bottle recycling facility and found to contain the first known PETase enzyme, critical in breaking down PET, a widely used plastic. Most importantly for the bioremediation business model, the components the PET is broken down into are terephthalic acid and ethylene gloycol, the same ingredients needed to make more PET, hence the recycling capability. After further screens and some genetic engineering, Carbios made thier breakthrough in 2020 having found a mutant bacteria that could depolymerise 90% of PET in under 10 hours. The company announced this year they will be creating biorecycled plastic for L’Oréal and L’Occitane, aiming to recycle 50 000 tonnes of plastic annually (after the opening of their manufacturing plant in late 2025), equivalent to 20 billion plastic bottles. In August, Carbios also announced a partnership with a Northampton-based a recycling and waste management company, to build a similar plant in the UK. This is a huge and exciting move, showcasing how biotechnology can help solve some of the greatest challenges facing the future of humanity in the 21st century.
Another company hoping to grab a slice of the market is Breaking, a plastic degradation and synthetic biology company. Launched in April 2024, thier flagship product X-32 has been shown to degrade up to 90% of polyolefins, polyesters, and polyamides leaving behind carbon dioxide, water, and biomass in as little as 22 months. With further genetic edits, the team hope to make X-32 faster and more efficient, hoping to help solve the plastics crisis with no environmental impact. The team behind X-32 claim that the “biomass generated may also hold immense value in various industries. These molecules unveil potential for utilization in the production of biofuels, biodegradable plastics, and high-value chemicals.” The company has raised $10.5 million dollars in investment and are definitely one to watch in the future.
With plastic waste being declared a global crisis by the UN and its impact being felt in both nature and human health, there is a large and lucrative market for a novel plastic waste management solution. I believe that biotechnology is the key to solving this problem and as the biotechnology revolution provides more weapons to the arsenal, I am excited about what the future holds and hopefully seeing a viable solution soon.
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[…] Whilst advances in biotechnology are helping to recycle plastic waste (see my previous post titled: “A Solution for Pollution: How Bacteria are Transforming Plastic Waste Management”), the first action in the command is REDUCE. As mentioned earlier, the demand for plastic packaging […]