We all know plastics aren’t biodegradable and that’s bad, so why can’t we just use chemical science to break them down ourselves?
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1. There are actually biodegradable plastics, they’re just less cheap and available, because other plastics are made from byproducts from fossil fuel processing. There’s a lot of THAT, so we have to do SOMETHING with it. It isn’t useful for much *except* plastic, which is why plastic is so cheap to produce. So as we scale back on fossil fuel consumption, you will see a natural shift to biodegradable plastics like PLA, as the waste material from corn starch will eventually become cheaper than the plastics from fossil fuels.
2. We can and we’re working on it, but to do so in a way that concerts all of the chemicals into stable and safe forms to have in the atmosphere in concentration is the problem. It always breaks down into *something* and we don’t want that something to be noxious fumes, or to poison the water supply. So whether we’re using chemicals or microorganisms to break it down, we will need to make sure it’s done in a safe way. Plus, consider the extra stuff that’s hidden away in the plastic goods. Like the little batteries in a child’s watch, or foil on the inside of a package. How will those things interact with the breakdown process? What would happen if the chemical or microorganism were to leak from the plastic eating zone, does that hurt the local environment too?
Lots of things to consider. It’s by no means an easy problem to solve, which is why there are so many smart people working and thinking on it.
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