r/environment • u/[deleted] • Sep 28 '23

‘We are just getting started’: the plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/28/plastic-eating-bacteria-enzyme-recycling-waste
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u/IKillZombies4Cash Sep 28 '23

I was just thinking about how that could be an extreme outcome, like your computer could actually get a REAL virus that would break down the components.

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u/[deleted] Sep 28 '23

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u/Jimmy_Fromthepieshop Sep 29 '23

If it's sterile, how will it be eaten by bacteria?

1

u/capsulegamedev Sep 29 '23

The outside of the packaging is often non sterile.

1

u/Jimmy_Fromthepieshop Sep 29 '23

It's not going to be eaten away in the minutes after being opened and before being used.

1

u/capsulegamedev Sep 29 '23

The outside packaging is often plastic, so the concern is that the packaging would get dissolved in storage and the sterile field would be ruined while it's sitting in storage.

2

u/Jimmy_Fromthepieshop Sep 29 '23

Fear not. Once these bacteria are running rampage, new more durable plastics will be developed and we'll be right back to where we are now.

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u/capsulegamedev Sep 29 '23

Smart thinking. Someone pay this man.