Page 50 - Plastics News December 2021

TECHNoLoGY

Scientists Give New Lease Of Life To E-Waste New Plastic-

Plastics Degrading Enzymes

Traced

he number of microbial enzymes
Twith the ability to degrade plastic
is growing, in correlation with local
levels of plastic pollution. That is the
finding of a new study that measured
samples of environmental DNA
from around the globe. The results
illustrate the impact plastic pollution
is having on the environment, and
hint at potential new solutions for
managing the problem. The new study,
recently published in the scientific
journal mBIO, analysed samples of
lastics found in electronic waste maximum value to be recovered from environmental DNA from hundreds
P(e-waste) are rarely recycled due e-waste plastics, but also help to reduce of locations around the world. The
to their complex composition and the amount of plastic waste generated researchers used computer modelling
hazardous additives, but scientists at from biomedical research, said the to search for microbial enzymes with
Nanyang Technological University, NTU research team. A study in 2015 plastic-degrading potential, which was
Singapore (NTU Singapore) have estimated that 5.5 million tonnes of then cross-referenced with the official
developed a new use for them -- by lab-related plastic waste[2], including numbers for plastic waste pollution
repurposing them as an alternative cell culture dishes, is generated globally across countries and oceans."Using
to the plastics used in laboratory in a year.These new findings build on a our models, we found multiple lines of
cell culture containers, such as petri 2020 study led by the same NTU team, evidence supporting the fact that the
dishes.The team at NTU Singapore- which investigated the effect of e-waste global microbiome's plastic-degrading
CEA Alliance for Research in Circular plastics on six different human cell types potential correlates strongly with
Economy (SCARCE) repurposed the and found healthy cell growth despite measurements of environmental plastic
e-waste plastics, subjecting them only the hazardous elements to be found
to sterilisation, before being trialled in in e-waste plastics. These findings
lab experiments.The team found that inspired the research team to upcycle
over 95 per cent of the human stem e-waste plastic scraps and trial them
cells seeded on plastics scavenged in advanced cell culture applications.
from discarded computer components Assistant Professor Dalton Tay of the
remained healthy after a week, a NTU School of Materials Science and
result comparable to cells grown on Engineering and School of Biological
conventional cell culture plates. These Sciences, who led this interdisciplinary
findings, described in a study published study, said: "E-waste plastics contain
online in the scientific journal Science hazardous components which may get
of the Total Environment, indicate released into the environment if not
a potential new sustainable use for disposed of properly. Interestingly, we pollution a significant demonstration
e-waste plastics, which account for found through our studies that certain of how the environment is responding
about 20 per cent of the 50 million e-waste plastics could successfully to the pressures we are placing on
tonnes of e-waste produced worldwide maintain cell growth, making them it," says Aleksej Zelezniak, Associate
each year. Repurposing them for cell potential alternatives to the cell culture Professor in Systems Biology at
culture in the lab would not only allow plastics used in labs today." Chalmers University of Technology.

50 PLASTICS NEWS DECEMBER 2021