Fast way to decompose plastic bags.

[matthyaouw]

Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms. If those microorganisms, as well as the optimal conditions for their growth, could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.

...

At 37 degrees and optimal bacterial concentration, the microbes had consumed 43 percent of a plastic sample within six weeks.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2RcIPs/blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/27/its-in-the-bag-teenager-wins-science-fair-solves-massive-environmental-problem/

Ok, interesting, but is this practical? Leaving aside the means by which you'd heat the mix to a cosy 37 degrees, what would be the products of this? The microbes will metabolise and throw out gasses I presume. What sort and in what volumes? Would doing this in the (relative) blink of an eye be in any way worse than just allowing them to decompose the normal (slow) way? How about any worse than just burning them? I'm intrigued to know the implications of this idea.

 

[Xnn]

While bacteria do exhale some CO2, they also form a wide variety of organic materials in the process of reproducing. So, the product of their consumption of plastic bags would be far better for the soil than simple combustion.

Combustion, would produce CO2, H20 and inorganic ash. Extremely common and not particularly valuable products.

 

[matthyaouw]

Thanks for the input :)

So what do people think? Is it worth the effort?

 

[cesiumfrog]

Isn't our biggest environmental problem currently that we've been decomposing products that contain fossil-carbon much too quickly?

And so now you're advertising a way to decompose another product that contains fossil-carbon much more quickly?