A team of researchers demonstrated that they could 3D-print delicious edible cookies out of plastic waste that was digested by yeast.

Are we eating enough plastic already?

  • Fmstrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    5 hours ago

    They haven’t actually eaten one of their µBites yet, as they wait for university approval

    Mmhmm. Yup. Sure.

  • tigermountain@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    I want all the scientists working on this to eat about 20 of these cookies every week and report back in 6 months after they’ve had their doctors do a physical on them and tell us how they’re doing.

  • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
    107·
    4 days ago

    Before the yeast can start feasting, the PET plastics are subjected to a process called oxidative hydrothermal dissolution to break them down into smaller bits that the microbes can digest.

    Sensationalism aside, this could actually be a big deal. We use a lot of PET (polyethylene). Plastic drink bottles, plastic bags, plastic wrap, tape, fabrics, even some car parts. PET is a huge market segment of consumer products that are difficult to replace with environmentally friendly alternatives.

    If we can boil it and then feed it to a vat of yeast to break down, that would be fantastic. Even better, it could remove some of the difficulty of plastic sorting which is a major part of the recycling problem. Basically, if you dump some plastic into the vat that the yeast can’t eat, well it just won’t eat it, so just sift it out of the vat later for a different disposal process, no big deal.

    Even if humans can’t directly consume the byproduct, I’m sure we can use it for something else.

    My biggest question is how long this takes, which they don’t address in the article. How long do you have to boil the material (how much energy, how much water, how much oxygen, how big a facility to process X volume of waste), and how long does it take the yeast to break it down? If it can be done in hours or days that’s well worth spending some resources to build a processing center. If it takes months or years it will require more planning and analysis.

    • huppakee@lemmy.worldEnglish
      33·
      4 days ago

      My biggest question is how long this takes, which they don’t address in the article. How long do you have to boil the material (how much energy, how much water, how much oxygen, how big a facility to process X volume of waste), and how long does it take the yeast to break it down? If it can be done in hours or days that’s well worth spending some resources to build a processing center. If it takes months or years it will require more planning and analysis.

      They don’t put in a direct answer, but there is an indirect one: $60 per kilo. That needs to come down A LOT before there is a real future for this. I heard of projects that try and turn plastics into fuels. Sooner or later somebody will figure it out.

      • 5318008@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        $60 per kilo

        That’s not bad for a prototype! With lab-growth meat, the initial cost was $2.3 million / kg. It’s come down since then because of process and scale improvements, but when it starts off that high, it’s going to be a while for it to become affordable.

        A quick non-AI figure is $0.60 per kilo to recycle plastic… so we just need improvement by a factor of 100 which is quite realistic.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
        17·
        4 days ago

        Yes, I’m assuming that this is being done in a lab environment without purpose-built equipment, and also that developing the specialized yeast strain was part of the cost.

        Assuming that the genetic change is stable and that the yeast is self-propagating like normal yeast, then engineering the rest of it into an assembly line shouldn’t be too difficult and should bring the cost down by orders of magnitude.

        Plus, if we can turn the output hydrocarbons into a viable market product then the recycler can offset the operating cost, which would make this even more interesting. Right now plastic recycling is just losses.

        • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
          3·
          4 days ago

          Assuming that the genetic change is stable and that the yeast is self-propagating like normal yeast, then…

          …we will have to stop using so much plastic, because it won’t be reliable shelf stable packaging one the yeast that eats it is loose.

          • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
            4·
            3 days ago

            Possibly, but:

            Before the yeast can start feasting, the PET plastics are subjected to a process called oxidative hydrothermal dissolution to break them down into smaller bits that the microbes can digest.

            “Oxidative hydrothermal dissolution” - basically they boil the plastic and oxidize it, I think at the same time. Maybe hydrogen peroxide + water? Essentially this is kind of an accelerated aging.

            Anyway, the yeast can’t eat the plastic without some processing first, which is probably good because it means existing plastic packages won’t just start falling apart. On the other hand if this does get loose, it might be able to eat any PET litter that has started breaking down in the environment due to exposure to sun, rain, ocean water, etc. The absolute easiest waste for this to eat would be any PET that has broken down into microplastic particles and ended up in soil or water, which would be kind of an ideal situation.

            • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
              3·
              3 days ago

              Evolution finds a way.

              But seriously I thought the article implied the oxidation process just made the particle smaller so they’d have more surface area and get consumed quicker. Even if it’s slow, won’t the yeast that have a taste for PET still want to grow on it, like they do with bread.

          • Axolotl@feddit.itEnglish
            1·
            3 days ago

            It really depends on the necessary conditions for the yeast to start using PET, most yeasts will just not do much unless their specific condition is met

    • TeaWithDani@lemmy.worldEnglish
      51·
      3 days ago

      These “food cookies” could be used as compost or animal feed no? Just transforming it into something that can return to nature is really cool.

      Also opens up the door to possibly finding a way to remove microplastics from people or animals. If it was possible to safely get those yeast into people, would break them down.

      • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        Absolutely. Nothing can break down those polymers naturally, so just getting that process started makes a big difference. The very worst case is that the output material ends up in landfill - if it’s just a sugar molecule at that point, it will break down relatively quickly. Way, way better than letting the plastic break down in the environment.

  • FreddiesLantern@leminal.spaceEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Experts: we’re not gonna be eating plastic cookies.

    Sounds a lot like: we can’t make profits of plastic cookies so don’t get your hopes up.

    • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
      12·
      3 days ago

      Idk if it’s an unpopular opinion here, but I’m totally cool with bugs as protein. I actually ate a roach that was raised in a clean environment and fed nothing but apples. It wasn’t bad, actually kinda good. Tasted vaguely of apple to boot.

      • Garbagio@lemmy.zipEnglish
        6·
        3 days ago

        I’m cool with it. I fuckin hate roaches, but that aside, I think people misrepresent the concept for their own goals. The point isn’t to eat bugs for protein (even if humans have at various points in history as a cultural norm). The point is modern meat production is killing us, and we should find other ways to supplement our nutritional intake. But the same people who bitch about vegans not getting the right macros or whatever also shit on bugs, so

      • Soggy@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        Entomophagy isn’t even uncommon, globally speaking. And I can vouch for chapulines and escamoles being tasty. I’d happily try more invertebrate foods.

    • Axolotl@feddit.itEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      First it was bugs as protein .

      Which has nothing wrong…?

      Then it was poo burgers .

      I mean, i really doubt it’s meant to be taken as serious consideration and not just “why don’t wr just try for the funnies?”

      Now it’s trash cookies.

      Seems like you did not even try to understand the article lmao, they just want to showcase their modified yeast that can “eat” PET and produce other stuff with it

    • FreddiesLantern@leminal.spaceEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      I was gonna say piss beer, but we already have heineken.

      (Boomer joke I know, I know!

      Tbh I drink almost no more alcohol in general)

  • gandalf_der_13te@feddit.orgEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    there was a study during WW2 germany whether factories could produce synthetic food from petroleum … i’m not entirely sure what the outcome of this was, actually, i should read up on it some day.

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago

    “They [university students] haven’t actually eaten one of their µBites yet, as they wait for university approval.”

    LOL yeah right - same reason I never drank beer in college. Waiting for approval!

  • LavaPlanet@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    What’s the marketing for this. Eat enough plastic, become plastic, be immortal? Eat enough plastic to override the effects of climate change, live long enough to see the billionaires in their bunkers rot because they don’t know how to open food packaging themselves? Eat enough plastic you can now perform your own plastic surgery, with the free companion microwave app?

    • Jarix@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      It was created for a NASA deep space food contest. Context makes the development a lot more understandable

  • kibblebits@quokk.auEnglish
    23·
    4 days ago

    Wait they haven’t even tasted it? If I was a scientist turning plastic into food I would be at least licking it.

  • rhythmisaprancer@quokk.auEnglish
    10·
    3 days ago

    While this could be good, I think about this much older article that talks about somewhat similar things, specifically

    turkey offal, tires, plastic bottles, harbor-dredged muck, old computers, municipal garbage, cornstalks, paper-pulp effluent, infectious medical waste, oil-refinery residues, even biological weapons such as anthrax spores

    but they ended up only doing (what I remember being) the turkey offal. The article mentioned here says

    plastic compounds and agricultural byproducts like discarded plant stalks into proteins, fats, acids, and flavorings

    and while it has been 20+ years, my concern is that it will end up doing much less than promised. But I can hope for more.