Recycling Alternatives to Decomposing Plastic
Have we found a solution? And a little motivation from Albert Einstein.
Photo Credit: Joshua Hehe / The Startup on Medium
Only 8 percent of plastic is recycled in the United States.
Still in disbelief about this research, which we shared April 27, we trudged on doing research for our Web 3.0 sustainable planet section. But honestly, we’re somewhat cynical about any chance of that happening.
If we can’t tackle a problem where most of us already spend a good quantity of time recycling, what chance do we have for problems that are going to require even tougher solutions?
Our next possible piece in the sustainable planet area was going to be about breakthroughs in grid battery storage and hybrid solar plus storage plants being constructed. However, as we started to do research, we saw an article in Nature magazine regarding the use of machine learning artificial intelligence and chemical engineering to decompose most of the plastic in our landfills today (PET) and set up the major step to take most of the plastic we produce and reuse it in the future.
Too good to be true? We have to admit, very rarely do we see one article and think this could be the entire basis for our research piece, but we think this one fits the bill. Although lots of specific questions remain, if this is as big a breakthrough as we think, it would be a huge step toward a sustainable planet.
Take a read, it is worth it. And, oh yes, we still believe in one of our favorite Einstein quotes.
“With every action theres an equal opposite reaction. With every problem, there's a solution: just a matter of taking action.”
- Albert Einstein
For Further Information:
Here is the scientific article by Nature Magazine on the enzyme that could be the solution to most our plastic garbage issues.
Here is an easy-to-read summary of an article from one of our most-referenced magazines, Fast Company.
Best,
Craig