Recycling hope for plastic-hungry enzyme
Scientists have improved a naturally occurring enzyme which can digest some of our most commonly polluting plastics.
PET, the strong plastic commonly used in bottles, takes hundreds of years to break down in the environment.
The modified enzyme, known as PETase, can start breaking down the same material in just a few days.
This could revolutionise the recycling process, allowing plastics to be re-used more effectively.
UK consumers use around 13 billion plastic drinks bottles a year but more than three billion are not recycled.
Paolo Margari