New process breaks down biodegradable plastics faster (IMAGE)
Caption
The new process to break down compostable plastics involves embedding polyester-eating enzymes in the plastic as it's made. When exposed to heat and water, the enzyme shrugs off its polymer shroud and starts chomping the plastic polymer into its building blocks -- in the case of PLA, reducing it to lactic acid, which can feed the soil microbes in compost.
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Courtesy University of California, Berkeley
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