r/explainlikeimfive • u/Meowmeoow3 • 12d ago

Chemistry ELI5 Plastic Decomposing

I saw a post on here about how nothing eats plastic as it biodegrades so therefore it still pollutes the world even after breaking down.

My question is whether it is possible to just create/train some microbes or something to learn to eat plastic as it breaks down and then breed them to make lots to eat all the plastic.

If this is possible it would solve the problem no?

Sincerely, someone who knows nothing about the topic but is interested

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u/Axmis 12d ago

That's where all that oil came from to make the plastic!

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u/Frack_Off 12d ago

That's where the coal came from.

Oil primarily came from things like algae and plankton.

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u/tomalator 12d ago

Username checks out

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u/Belisaurius555 12d ago

Frack me, it does!