Hydrolyzing our trash: a step forward

Isn’t nature wonderful? In no time at all (70 years) a plastic-eating bacteria has appeared that is capable of breaking down the molecular bonds of polyester. The journal “Science” reports that the bacteria can polish off (it’s technically called hydrolyzing) polyethylene terephalthate in just six weeks, much faster than leaves are degraded by bacteria. In view of the millions of tonnes of garbage littering the world, this sounds like good news. I wonder when bacteria will learn to dismantle old fridges and the other junk we throw away and forget?

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