Abstract

Plastic is all around us: in our toothbrushes, pens, cars, and even clothing! It is very useful. But plastic trash ends up in the environment and is bad for animals and humans. It can take hundreds of years to break down. Recycling this plastic can take a lot of energy and often still leaves waste. We wanted to find a better way to break plastic down and reuse it to make new plastic. 

We discovered an enzyme that “digests” plastic in the same way that humans can digest food.  Using this enzyme to break down used plastic means we will need much less energy to recycle plastic. Plus, we can even use the products of the process to make plastics that are just as good as new ones!