The world population is growing disproportionately. And hunger with her. According to the UN, 690 million people (8.9% of the world’s population) are hungry. First, because of poverty and second, because of a constant threat: climate change. The number is expected to increase by 10 million people in one year and 60 million in five. At the same time, there is the problem of plastic: there is too much of it. Of the 6,300 million tons that are manufactured each year, 79% accumulates in landfills. And it doesn’t go away soon, some even take hundreds of years.
A remedy to both problems will see the light of day soon: food made from plastic. And yes, it could be the solution to our ills.
The project. Biological Reuse of Plastic by BioPROTEIN, is the name given to the project. This is a joint DARPA cooperation with Michigan Tech biologists, engineers and chemists. While it’s still very new work, biologist Stephen Techtmann’s team has managed to create small amounts of this protein powder that they say smells quite a bit like yeast. The idea is basically that humans can feed on this product one day in the not too distant future.
It all stems from scientific evidence that a large number of bacteria in nature are capable of cleaning up oil spills. This made the researchers wonder if these microorganisms could also whet their appetite with plastic. Or better: transform plastic into food. In this way, humans would not eat plastic directly, but the cells produced when bacteria feed on it.
How does it work. The process is quite simple: plastic, such as PE, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate, used in bottles is chemically treated for a couple of hours in a reactor. This process turns the plastic into an oily sludge, allowing bacteria to metabolize the material faster, in a matter of days rather than years. Once all the plastic sludge has been consumed, the bacteria are sent to the microbial slaughterhouse, so to speak.
As Techtmann commented in this Vice article, from a molecular level, the components of bacteria are very similar to the food we already eat. “There is a lot of protein in them: they have lipids, fats and vitamins. The product we are producing is very similar to a protein powder that has already been processed.”
possible uses. As food shortages grow, this solution could help with the problems of hunger and plastic waste. “Our big vision is to develop something that is relatively small and could be put in a trunk and then basically power itself without requiring a lot of power,” the researchers explained. The advantage is that it is not something that a large industrial facility would need to do the conversions. If all goes well, it would become a potential source of sustainable food, similar to the current trend for animal-free protein.
Issues. Of course, the project is not without obstacles, both in terms of scale and recyclability. Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled. A lot of that has to do with how expensive the process is. And the value of plastic also degrades over time with each reuse: making new plastic is cheap. Also, chemical treatment consumes a lot of energy, so scientists are looking for alternative ways, using solar panels attached to the sides of an all-in-one device. On the other hand, another challenge is to ensure that the product is safe for food consumption and to prove it to the regulators.
Image: Unsplash | Michigan Tech