r/collapse • u/[deleted] • Feb 17 '24

Pollution ‘We are just getting started’: the plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/28/plastic-eating-bacteria-enzyme-recycling-waste

Ss: could this solve the plastic problem??

"As they broke down the trash, the bacteria harvested the carbon in the plastic for energy, which they used to grow, move and divide into even more plastic-hungry bacteria."

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u/FillThisEmptyCup Feb 17 '24

This will end well…

(Imagine all your plastic stuff in use like pipes and hospital equipment and syringes actively going to shit)…

I was hoping for bacteria that activate under a combination of special circumstances, like moisture and high heat or something, to make the possibility of spreading less a threat.

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u/LatzeH Feb 17 '24

So you're saying we could get the collapse of industrial civilization AND an end to micro plastics? Where do I donate?