this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2023
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It’s crazy right, I feel the people who had developed the plastics would be well aware it’s not it’s not actually breaking down.
I did read awhile back they were finding micro plastics literally everywhere now. I wonder if we can develop some bacteria or insect that can digest plastic. I remember someone was doing something with mealworms and styrofoam or similar
So it sounds like a good plan, except one thing: the lack of microbes breaking it down is exactly what makes it useful. If you have a microbe breaking down plastic into an organic, then it won't be long before you jump in your car and the plastic parts of the engine have been eaten by the microbe. We will end up having to develop a new substance that doesn't break down.
I think we should be focusing our efforts into moving most things away from using plastic. We should focus on developing non-plastic products that can take the place of plastic for short term/single use places, so plastic can stay useful for longer term uses.