Plastic degrading enzymes

Plastic debris and microplastics represent a serious hazard for the environment and the human and animal health.

The main source of plastic pollution is mismanagement of post-consumer waste, primarily because of poor collection and processing of the plastic, even for recyclable resins. New, advanced recycling technologies can produce more valuable products (monomers), enabling new repurposing and manufacturing pipelines for recycled waste.

These technologies suffer from technical impediments that hinder their implementation at large scales. Here we propose to a combinatorial approach that addresses the main technological issues at hand, providing a solution to advance Australia’s advanced recycling capabilities.