A breakthrough in plastic recycling could reduce the amount of it in landfills by billions of tons.
Researchers have manipulated an enzyme that can break down plastic in a matter of days.
Once plastic hits a landfill, it could take hundreds of years to break down.
“I think the thing about plastic is it just takes so long to decompose,” said Roger Young, supervisor of the Seminole Road Landfill in DeKalb County.
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Young said plastic takes up a lot of space at the landfill.
A new discovery by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin could change how we deal with plastic.
“What we’re trying to do eventually is get to the point where we can have what some of us call a circular plastics economy, where you have a plastic, you degrade it, and then you rebuild it into something new,” said Andrew Ellington, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who is involved in the research.
We show you how the enzyme works and how it could change the face of recycling, MONDAY on Channel 2 Action News at 5 p.m.
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