# Plastic-eating bacteria **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904 "2017-06-02T01:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pilgrim_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/1 "2017-06-02T01:32:10Z")
I hear rumors of using bacteria that eat plastics as a solution to pollution. What would these bacteria excrete? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/2 "2017-06-02T01:47:34Z")
It depends entirely on the plastic. IIRC some organisms can convert polyethylene to ethylene glycol, which can be further metabolized. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/3 "2017-06-02T01:56:58Z")
> [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](#): > > What would these bacteria excrete? > 😕 That’d be my third question, after “Would it really work?” and “Are we in the first scene of a bad monster movie?” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/4 "2017-06-02T03:24:38Z")
What they would excrete would be primarily carbon dioxide and water, same as you and me. Plastics are made of mostly the same elements as living creatures, just arranged a little differently. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/5 "2017-06-02T11:34:26Z")
So, not one of those plastic fake dog poops? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/6 "2017-06-02T13:16:41Z")
My first question would be how do we make sure it only eats the waste plastic? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/7 "2017-06-02T13:35:00Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > So, not one of those plastic fake dog poops? Funny - but the plastic fake dog poop is actually what they would eat, since it’s plastic. > [@dolphinboy](#): > > My first question would be how do we make sure it only eats the waste plastic? Even if it does only eat plastic, how do we make sure it only eats plastic we don’t want? How do we keep it from attacking plastics we do want (e.g. all the plastic parts in your car)? Dissolving plastics with solvents is fine; the solvent gets used up. But if bacteria use your plastic as fuel to make more of themselves, and can spread just like any other bacteria (e.g. by contact, or on the wind/water), then we could have a problem. This touches on the [“grey goo” scenario](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_goo) that has been a concern of nanotechnology theorists for a long time: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Grey goo (also spelled gray goo) is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all biomass on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario that has been called ecophagy (“eating the environment”, more literally “eating the habitation”). The original idea assumed machines were designed to have this capability, while popularizations have assumed that machines might somehow gain this capability by accident. Later in the article, we find a quote from another source: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > > [@Engines of Creation](#): > > > > Tough, omnivorous ‘bacteria’ could out-compete real bacteria: they could spread like blowing pollen, replicate swiftly, and reduce the biosphere to dust in a matter of days. ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/8 "2017-06-02T13:48:30Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > My first question would be how do we make sure it only eats the waste plastic? That was my 1st thought also and then the realization that all bacteria eventually escapes into the big wide world. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/9 "2017-06-02T14:05:22Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > That was my 1st thought also and then the realization that all bacteria eventually escapes into the big wide world. AFAIK the organisms described thus far are all already out in the big wide world. The last study I saw was waxmoth larvae, DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.060 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/10 "2017-06-02T15:09:06Z")
Mutant 59? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/11 "2017-06-02T15:45:52Z")
The scariest part about the gray goo scenario is that it’s already happened. And then the goo proceeded to turn a fifth of the atmosphere into one of the most dangerous, corrosive substances known. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/12 "2017-06-02T16:10:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The scariest part about the gray goo scenario is that it’s already happened. And then the goo proceeded to turn a fifth of the atmosphere into one of the most dangerous, corrosive substances known. Technically, the goo was probably [blue-green](http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/07/28/the_great_oxygenation_event_the_earth_s_first_mass_extinction.html). The “plastic-eating microbe escapes” scenario is a key plot point of Michael Crichton’s _The Andromeda Strain_, where the “space virus” mutates into something that eats plastic and rubber. Including the plastic and rubber seals in its isolation environment. It didn’t go all “end of the world” because it mutated again into something benign (lucky lucky :rolleyes:) but that’s the first I was exposed to the concept of a plastic-phage microorganism. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/13 "2017-06-02T16:18:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The scariest part about the gray goo scenario is that it’s already happened. And then the goo proceeded to turn a fifth of the atmosphere into one of the most dangerous, corrosive substances known. I read that this wiped out most life on earth at the time. ---
**Author:** ![race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@race\_to\_the\_bottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/race_to_the_bottom)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/14 "2017-06-02T16:23:07Z")
Forget the “grey goo” scenario. Breaking down PET using bacteria is an [industrial process involving vats of bacteria](https://www.sciencealert.com/new-plastic-munching-bacteria-could-fuel-a-recycling-revolution) One of the products produced by this process is ethylene glycol, i.e., antifreeze. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/15 "2017-06-02T16:30:42Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Mutant 59? That was my first thought, too! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/16 "2017-06-02T21:21:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The scariest part about the gray goo scenario is that it’s already happened. And then the goo proceeded to turn a fifth of the atmosphere into one of the most dangerous, corrosive substances known. Cite? Was this a real event, or some meta-thing I’m not getting? ETA: Oh, wait, meta-thing: corrosive substance = water? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/17 "2017-06-02T21:23:14Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Cite? Was this a real event, or some meta-thing I’m not getting? > **[Great Oxidation Event](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event)** > > The Great Oxidation Event (GOE) or Great Oxygenation Event, also called the Oxygen Catastrophe, Oxygen Revolution, Oxygen Crisis or Oxygen Holocaust, was a time interval during the Earth's Paleoproterozoic era when the Earth's atmosphere and shallow seas first experienced a rise in the concentration of free oxygen. This began approximately 2.460–2.426 Ga (billion years) ago during the Siderian period and ended approximately 2.060 Ga ago during the Rhyacian. Geological, isotopic and chemi The ap... ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/18 "2017-06-02T23:00:11Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > My first question would be how do we make sure it only eats the waste plastic? I vaguely remember an old SF short story where the plastic eating bacteria got loose and the only thing that kept the company that had produced them from bankruptcy was, 1) the fact that they did manage to corral the little beasties somehow and 2) the discovery that what they excreted was alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/19 "2017-06-03T05:33:53Z")
I’ll remind everyone that there have been bacteria and fungi that break down cellulose for millions of years, and yet we continue to build structures with wood, wear cellulose-based clothing, etc., without civilization breaking down. Just because a novel bacterium can digest nylon doesn’t imply that it can also thrive without water, or when exposed to UV, or even in the presence of oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Pilgrim\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pilgrim_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904/20 "2017-06-08T04:27:10Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I vaguely remember an old SF short story where the plastic eating bacteria got loose and the only thing that kept the company that had produced them from bankruptcy was, 1) the fact that they did manage to corral the little beasties somehow and 2) the discovery that what they excreted was alcohol. I suppose researchers could select breed bacteria to eat certain kinds of plastic. If you’ve got a solution, work with it until perfect. You know, Murphy’s Law. What do you do when your bacteria start to mutate? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-eating-bacteria/787904.md?page=2)