Plastic eaters at work

Since the 1950s, global plastic production has grown rapidly and now reached several billion tonnes overall. The majority of these plastics are still being landfilled, incinerated or released into the environment in an uncontrolled manner after a short period of use, while only a small proportion is recycled. To counteract these developments, the idea of a circular economy for plastics is gaining in importance. In addition to mechanical and chemical processes, biocatalytic approaches are increasingly coming into focus. Enzymes offer the potential to break down certain types of plastic into their monomers under mild conditions, thus creating high-quality recyclates. The public perception of "plasticeating bacteria" illustrates the fascination for this technology, but also carries the risk of inflated expectations. Prof. Wolfgang Zimmermann, professor emeritus at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Leipzig, has carried out an analysis in his report "Biocatalytic recycling of plastics: facts and fiction" in order to realistically classify the opportunities and limits of biocatalytic recycling. The report was published in "Chemical Science".