One of the main challenges in recycling PET (polyethylene terephthalate, the most common plastic in food and beverage packaging and textile products) safely and efficiently - is breaking it down.
A new promising direction for doing so in a simpler and more environmentally friendly way comes from researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev: Biodegradation by Bacteria.
Prof. Ariel Kushmaro, Prof. Alex Sivan and their research team at BGU’s department of biotechnology engineering discovered multiple types of bacteria capable of successfully biodegrading polyethylene microplastics in soil samples and have signed a research collaboration agreement with Portuguese company Ecoibéria to conduct a one-year project to study and demonstrate the effectiveness of bacterial biodegradation of PET.
Exciting!
Enjoy the full story by Yael Mor on the excellent Israel21c site, a SUPERB resource for great news from Israel on the latest innovations and breakthroughs in health, science and technology, society and culture. https://www.israel21c.org/recycling-single-use-plastic-with-bacteria/
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