Plastic Bag Solution

[xoxoxoBruce]

A Canadian 11th grader, as a science project, has isolated the microbe that eats plastic bags. It's not the ultimate solution, but it is a major step toward it.

He knew plastic does eventually degrade, and figured microorganisms must be behind it. His goal was to isolate the microorganisms that can break down plastic -- not an easy task because they don't exist in high numbers in nature.

Probably a research lab could have done this long ago, but there hasn't been any substantial interest (money) in this kind of research. They're to busy looking for things they can sell.

To identify the bacteria in his culture, he let them grow on agar plates and found he had four types of microbes. He tested those on more plastic strips and found only the second was capable of significant plastic degradation.

Next, Burd tried mixing his most effective strain with the others. He found strains one and two together produced a 32 per cent weight loss in his plastic strips. His theory is strain one helps strain two reproduce.

What if they scientifically increase the number of these rare microbes in the world and they start eating everything made of plastic... the microbe that devoured walmart!

The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide -- each microbe produces only 0.01 per cent of its own infinitesimal weight in carbon dioxide, said Burd.

Think this kid will have trouble getting a job, after he's used up the scholarships he's won?

link

[Trilby]

when I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought someone had killed themself.


whew.

glad it's just more nerd mongering.

[sweetwater]

Is Burd certain that living things eating plastic will not form some sort of mutant beings - maybe tiny Borgs - plastic bacteria Borgs - Burd Borg Bacteria!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Are high school kids certain of anything?
Come to think of it, is there anything they are not certain of?

I see the fly in the ointment here, is the bags have to be gathered and put into this cooker. If they gather them up, why not just melt them down and reuse the plastic?

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I see the fly in the ointment here, is the bags have to be gathered and put into this cooker. If they gather them up, why not just melt them down and reuse the plastic?

The average cost of recovering plastic retail bags is somwhere between $1.25 and $1.50 per bag. Which plastics do you want to recover / recycle?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Recovering? It that the term for reusing the plastic?
Are grocery bags made of one of the bad plastics, unlike beverage bottles, that is hard to recycle?

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Are grocery bags made of one of the bad plastics, unlike beverage bottles, that is hard to recycle?

So which type of plastic does these bacteria eat? Or are these bacteria so destructive as to become an Andromeda Strain? All those women with plastic surgeons are in trouble.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Whatever type they make plastic bags from, that's all he tested. The article didn't say what type of bags, either... shopping? trash? sandwich?
I still don't understand where you came up with $1.25/$1.50 per bag?

[Clodfobble]

Looks to me like a grocery bag in the article photo.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The ones around here are white or brown (cardboard color), but that one may have been nom nom nomed by the microbes.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I still don't understand where you came up with $1.25/$1.50 per bag?

I thought you were male. Do you not fear what these microbes might do to beauty in Silicon Valley? We must put fear into perspective. 20-20 and 90-60-90 are numbers that must be protected.

Sorry. I get distracted by things that are actually important. What was that question? Oh. What kind of plastic would be consumed? That plastic is a problem only when it goes where recylcing (and microbes) cannot get at it. Sounds like these microbes are a solution still looking for a problem.

Plastics that are problematic are ones that escape the recycling bin. That microbe solution is woefully ill-defined by unanswered questions such as which type of plastics get eaten, what are those plastics converted into, why is this method better than existing recycling methods, and what will protect those medical wonders from Silicon Valley?

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by tw

The average cost of recovering plastic retail bags is somwhere between $1.25 and $1.50 per bag. Which plastics do you want to recover / recycle?

Originally Posted by tw

That plastic is a problem only when it goes where recylcing (and microbes) cannot get at it. Sounds like these microbes are a solution still looking for a problem.

How is $1.25/$1.50 per bag not a problem? And please, once again, tell us where you got that number. Numbers without evidence are just lies, as I'm sure you know.

[Flint]

Wait...have we asked the topmost questions?

[binky]

Originally Posted by Brianna

when I saw the title of this thread I immediately thought someone had killed themself.


whew.

glad it's just more nerd mongering.

Me too Bri hmmm

[xoxoxoBruce]

tw doesn't answer questions, he just throws out bullshit and expects you to genuflect, while he runs off on another tangent.
Most of the time, I get the impression he didn't even read the first post.