2020 2021
20202 2022 2023
The healthy economics of an enzyme diet
While enzymes offer potential for a low-energy solution to recycling some of the most commonly polluting singleuse plastics and textiles , the global uptake of enzyme technology will be driven largely by cost .
To assess this , scientists in the UK and US , as part of the BOTTLE Consortium ( bottle . org ), have modelled a conceptual recycling facility where waste PET plastic is broken down with enzymes , returning the material into its original chemical building blocks . They have compared this with traditional fossil fuel routes and shown that new plastics based on enzyme recycling can be cost-competitive with traditional fossil fuel-derived PET . They can also cut energy used in plastics manufacturing by up to 80 per cent and reduce related greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent .
December 2022
A pioneering scheme using street art , theatre and song aims to reduce open dumping and burning of waste as well as increase plastic recycling in Mpumalanga , South Africa . This scheme is the result of collaboration between the University of Portsmouth and Wasteaid .
December 2022
Revolution Plastics announces International PlasticsFuture Conference to be held in June 2023 .
A further techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment revealed strong economic , social and environmental benefits across the whole supply chain when using enzymes .
Focusing on the processing of a fraction of the three million tonnes of PET consumed annually in the US , the researchers found that using enzymes to digest the plastic waste reduced total supply chain energy use by 69 to 83 per cent and related greenhouse gas emissions by 17 to 43 per cent .
If the enzyme system is introduced in the US alone , the model shows a reduction in environmental impact of up to 95 per cent relative to using the fossil fuel building blocks of PET . This would have associated lower emissions reducing ecotoxicity , acidification and ozone depletion .
Many industries have a keen interest in enzyme-based recycling and Portsmouth ’ s research is showing that adopting these technologies at scale has the potential to achieve significant environmental and social benefits in a cost-competitive manner .
The Global Plastics Policy Centre is the world ’ s only independent research body with a dedicated team focused on developing rigorous , evidencebased plastics policy analysis . Its work is supported by the Netherlands-based Flotilla Foundation , a philanthropic body with a mission to enhance humankind ’ s relationship with the marine environment .
REVOLUTION PLASTICS / 2023 37