When a microbe was found munching on a plastic bottle in a rubbish dump, it promised a recycling revolution. Now scientists are attempting to turbocharge those powers in a bid to solve our waste crisis. But will it work?

  • mqvisionary@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Who knows what its consequences are? How about a simpler approach, like reducing plastic use maybe instead of some pie in the sky project?

    • Skua@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      We do probably want both. Even if we end plastic production completely tomorrow, we need to work out a way to clean up all the plastic we’ve already dumped all over the world

      • trilobite@lemdro.id
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        1 year ago

        I agree. We want both. Its like water consumption needs which keep increasing. We want to reduce demand and increase leakage reduction rather than take more water out of the environment. We’re making a mess of this planet because our lives are based on the assumption of eternal growth.

    • V17@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      What kind of question even is that? Reducing plastic enough and getting rid of the amount that’s already in the environment without new technological solutions is nothing but fantasy at this moment.

    • sab@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Making a nuclear bomb is much easier than keeping people from using it once it’s made.

      Natural science is difficult, but getting people to do the right thing is almost impossible.