Plastic-Eating Enzyme

A super-enzyme has been developed that could eventually break down plastic bottles in a matter of days. The discovery builds on earlier work by the same researchers who engineered PETase, an enzyme that breaks down PET (polyethylene terephalate) — a thermoplastic used in making carpeting, clothing, and single-use beverage bottles.

By simply mixing PETase with another enzyme (called MHETase) that’s found in the same bacterium, the speed of the PETase action doubled. But when the two were combined to create a super-enzyme, the action was increased dramatically by an additional factor of three.

As plastic waste continues to pose a global threat to everything from the deepest oceans to the very air we breathe, finding low-energy solutions for reducing this waste has become an environmental imperative. Future work will focus on developing enzyme “cocktails” that would enable mixed materials to be recycled in a similar way.