The smallest solution to one of our biggest problems - Tierney Thys & Christian Sardet

Explore the possibility of plastivores- organisms that can eat and break down plastic- helping reduce the plastic waste on Earth.
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Each year humanity produces roughly 400 million tons of plastic, 80% of which is discarded as trash. Of that plastic waste, only one-tenth is recycled. 60% gets incinerated or goes into the landfills, and 30% leaks out into the environment. Fortunately, there are microbes that may be able to take a bite out of this growing problem. Tierney Thys and Christian Sardet explore the future of recycling.
Lesson by Tierney Thys and Christian Sardet, directed by Elsa Esteban.
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez and Brian A. Dunn.

[@thesexybatman263]

That's why I always help Mother Nature by eating my daily dose of microplastics.

[@aahkari]

💀💀

[@dread69420]

👀👀

[@DBT1007]

That.. Funny but also sad because it's the reality of our world these days. U think you're free from microplastics, people? Think again. How about plastic particles in your drink. In your food from plastic packaging too. Also dont forget the fine tiny plastic particles in the air. Also.. If you sniff or breath close to clothes or bag or shoes made from polyester or polyethylene or something like that, that also produces microplastics. u can find "plastic fashion" often in the school and sports equipment and stuff. those jerseys made from plastics. also the shoes n backpack.

[@idontknowok5632]

Thats great! Keep it up.🙂

[@Madverdrive]

Hol up

[@notRealCapedBaldy]

These Japanese scientists deserve the Nobel Prize. Solving these plastic issues represents a significant breakthrough.

[@221b_Bakerstreet]

Nobel r often given to the inventions that have more future potential than it seems to have today. More like a key to a series of future inventions that thereby result in greatest benefit on mankind. On that ground you're right Saitama, they deserve a Nobel.

[@roadwarrior528]

Nah, give another one to Obama instead.

[@5599MIchael]

When we say 10% of wasted plastics are recycled, it makes it sounds like an average person does not do a good job recycling, but, it may be due to the fact that some plastic products are inherently not recyclable, such as plastic wrap/bags, electronics, and smaller plastics imbedded into textiles such as clothes and furniture. While it's important to push ourselves to recycle and live a sustainable lifestyle, I think it's also important to stop large scale producers to make certain things in the first place that don't need to be made. 400 million tons of plastic produced per year sure sounds awful

[@gabriellamcfield5472]

Yes! You hit it right on the nose. While the average person/consumer has an environmental responsibility, it is large corporations who create the most waste in the name of cutting costs and increasing their profits. I think therefore that the main environmental responsibility of consumers right now is to pressure corporations to change their practices. They should buy as many eco-friendly products as possible and (casually) boycott harmful traditional ones as best as they can. They should also push for laws against excessive waste. And they should also push to get corporate money out of politics! Many proposals intended to decrease the amount of waste corporations produce have been struck down because corporations pay to advertise against them or pay politicians to vote against them.

[@wendig00n]

@@gabriellamcfield5472 Revolt against the Machine

[@lindabooker3512]

Gabriella McField I agree. However, it’s like trying to get politicians to agree on reasonable gun rights.

[@xXSpamMeNotXx]

It’s also because the rest of the world doesn’t have infrastructure to handle recycling on a large scale.

[@bruhbruh5621]

fr

[@InfoChannelOfficial]

It's absolutely mind-boggling when you think that these microbes, which are at such a small scale, can make a huge difference in the world--whether it be good or bad. It's hard to wrap my mind around, but certainly a topic worth to contemplate!

[@aguyontheinternet8436]

Well there are a lot of them

[@genericscout5408]

if they ever became widespread it'd be as bad as any apocalypse. If it's something that's confined to specific small zones it might not cause planes to blow up and crash or cars to catch on fire randomly.

[@vogeline_]

@@genericscout5408 but only if these things are made of pet. If pet would start decaying it'll mean we'll stop producing it, wich would mean that barely anything even changed. Its up to us to make a difference.

[@ashcoates3168]

It’s so cool but also terrifying that we can engineer biology to do our bidding and help save the planet

[@Gebri3l]

This whole universe is playground for humans to do as we please. Keeping good and bad in mind

[@wendig00n]

@@Gebri3l good philosophy to follow!

[@Odood19]

Yeah imagine if they bio-engineered something to PRODUCE plastics and then they got out. That could be a sci fi horror movie

[@catdogmousecheese]

Actually, humans have been manipulating the DNA of other life forms for tens of thousands of years through methods like selective breeding and cross pollination. For example, chickens weren't always flightless, but over thousands of years of selective breeding chickens eventually lost the ability to fly. Corn is another example; there's no such thing as wild corn because corn stalks can't scatter their seeds without the aid of humans.

[@Odood19]

@@catdogmousecheese Yeah there is so much fear mongering related to genetic modification/engineering and biotech. But would we be willing to give up our dogs? How about wheat that doesn't drop its seeds? I wouldn't think so. I for one am glad that people figured out how to manipulate life forms to our benefit. Where would we be without domesticated cereal grain? Probably dying in caves by age 20.

[@akanksha9901]

YOU GUYS WIIL NOT BELIEVE THIS . I did a project on saving the oceans , and i researched about this bacteria to help me put forward my idea . This bacteria made me win first prize in those competitions . If this bacteria actually starts getting used , its going to be a huge success

[@Badbitchica]

That's great! and yes, those plastivores are the boon of our prevailing biosphere. Until now, there have been some methods to discard micro-plastic but not so efficient and eco-friendly and in conclusion, this might be our only resort.

[@hitmanekoyslnp8572]

Share a link to a doc or blog about itM

[@dabeastle7116]

Poggers my guy

[@lovelyseeker89]

Do you ever think if this got produced more they can eat while city plastic

[@vogeline_]

What if the bacteria starts decaying plastic that's still used? Won't the people who produce plastic stop making plastic that can decay this easily?

[@cringingyukino3282]

Genetic engineering is such a good concept. You may question its ethicality but at the end of the day, it is objectively great IF done right.

[@LuddyFish_]

Very much so. I remember my biology class having a debate whether it was ethically right to modify baby genes. We discussed if we should even modify genes at all, even if we could remove a gene that causes a baby to live no longer than a year. Or should we be able to modify genes so that all future generations can run as fast as Usain Bolt. Science is neutral. It is only good or bad by the intentions of the user.

[@lordbanetheplayer8844]

@@LuddyFish_ It is like magic.

[@relaxwithhanzo5446]

@@LuddyFish_ i really want to create microorganisms that can eat all of the thrashes that we have made

[@thalassaer4137]

@@relaxwithhanzo5446 i wanna make ones that itll only a certain race-

[@halalaccount3918]

Yep IF DONE RIGHT

[@medardbitangimana4580]

Can we take a moment to appreciate the creativity of the animators🙌🏾

[@okokoka]

This is exactly what i studying now. We try to characterize and isolate them (the microbes) from polluted freshwater. I suggest there will be many research studies about the microbes that could degrade many type of microplastics. Hopefully we can use them as a sollution of water pollution in the future.

[@green-green-grass]

Goodness! Same xD

[@landinobin4835]

If plastic degrading microbes become very common, will they obsolete plastic? We use plastic for packaging and to make items that should last long without degrading.

[@leht1617]

it's good to know that there's still hope to improve our life and utilize these for the environment

[@tekken4granted913]

Hearing Addison's voice in new TED-Ed content is a blessing 😇

[@geo3106]

Imagine if the polyethylene could eventually be degraded to ethanol and used for sanitisers using fermentation or assisted by it. Or something of the sort.

[@teodorcornea7014]

Or for drinking!

[@DBT1007]

That for big plastic. How about microplastics? That's hard thing

[@rustyshackle917]

Imagine holding the plastics industry responsible for the environmental disaster they've created.

[@aguyontheinternet8436]

@@teodorcornea7014 Delicious pure ethanol

[@DBT1007]

@@rustyshackle917 also imagine having more than 2 children. Or even 10 children. You're actively destroying environment faster because each human have needs. We all need metal, wood, minerals, plants, energy, job, and also produces waste. Even if you're vegan, u still need wood. U actively destroying things.

[@rachelventure5424]

The end of the world is going to be the sound of one guy in a lab saying "heh heh, it worked" - Jon Stewart

[@iamgreatalwaysgreat8209]

I dont think its good idea to bio engineer virus/microbes to eat plastic, it could severely back fire and cause plastic epidemic, plastic is good only because of its pertainess.

[@joanhoffman3702]

😳😳😳😳😳

[@robertbosch99]

As a chemistry student, the amount of giddyness I gained from this knowledge when I first read about it is unimaginable.

[@mushmush4980]

The only thing that worries me about microbes breaking down plastics at normal temperatures is that it makes it easy to break down plastic in places it really shouldn't be, i.e. everyday technology

[@kennyloong90]

back to square one invent plastic that cant be break down for eg. electrical insulator etc

[@winzyl9546]

As long as you dont dip your phone in dirt for long periods of time

[@AmiraKrim]

Ted-Ed, thank you for existing 😭❤️

[@nyxquake8218]

I absolutely love the style of this video. Keep it up TED-Ed. You never disappoint.

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

Everyday I learn more from this channel and that's awesome

[@billysbees]

congrats TED-Ed team. you Never stop to amaze me . this one is one of your Best videos Ever! Thank you for your creations I'm gladly digesting it Right now

[@nasalnex]

This is by far my favourite animation style of TEDEd's videos!

[@jbanders2358]

By “we” , you realize it’s Corporations who decide what materials are used for their products. The same corporations who’ve bought and paid the politicians that pass the laws that further destroy this amazing planet 🌍

[@RMProjects785]

Do corporations just pollute for fun? Who's buying from these companies to allow them to continue these practices?

[@DuongThuy-dy4nw]

I used this video to complete my thesis on plastic waste

[@ethanomcbride]

We desperately need to tax the plastics industry to fund programs that will 1) Research PE/PP consuming enzymes, 2) Research plastic replacement materials, and 3) programs to collect and bio-degrade all existing PET waste

[@juliboi08]

Can't wait to see this apply in real world. It would be a game changer. Kudos to all who are part of this study

[@galaxy-412]

i have a science project and we chose this topic... this was spectacular timing. Thank you TED-Ed

[@BienvenidoAlHoloceno]

Excellent video!

[@Ninjaeule97]

I know that there are insects that can bite through PE and PP and I read that they have MOs (microorganisms) in them that can brake down the small PE and PP pieces into for the insect harmless substances. I believe it was only a Wikipedia article, but maybe we should look into that.

[@bindu654]

Really useful information 👍

[@doladi2774]

another great video

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

i'm glad this science is progressing slowly. I'm not ready for hospitals to need to deal with plastic eating mold outbreaks

[@cosmonaut2684]

This video has one of the best Ted-ed animacion ever made

[@educlarity]

The real question is, are these microbes gonna have nil or minimal impact on the ecosystem if we introduce them to the soil? (Like, not altering the natural beneficial microflora in a particular environment where it's gonna be introduced)

[@dayo_0X1]

This is soooo cool!

[@shivamwasp]

Ted-ed, do a video on how car engines work (if you haven't already) and difference between electric and gas cars

[@ukiyo5612]

A small step for a microbe, a giant leap for mankind 💚

[@rizkifauzi7048]

will this evolve into Zurk?

[@thesenseiclub3930]

excellent - two cents on such an important matter

[@aaryanairy756]

3:03 Microbe Pacman!!!!!!

[@sketchyskies8531]

I really like the music in this

[@bizzy5108]

Same lol 😂

[@invurret9533]

Isn't this what created the Zurgs in Stray?

[@bd1982]

very informative

[@cyrilmathew4136]

A question: Once scientists are able to engineer a microbe able to effectively degrade plastics fast, what happens next? What is going to prevent these same microbes from spreading and eating food packaging, medicine/drug packaging and packaging for other perishable stuff? In such a scenario what do we do? Go back to glass packaging?

[@ayaanmohammad6645]

Well, as they mentioned at the end, we need to change what plastics we use or even if we use them at all.

[@angus2862]

We already have biodegradable packaging...

[@aminulhussain2277]

What happens next is that plastic now rots.

[@Juandro97]

We wouldn't be using the microbes themselves. As mentioned in the video, we use these microbes to produce large quantities of the plastic degrading enzymes. Unlike the microbes, enzymes don't spread or reproduce, they eventually just stop functioning.

[@hatchling88]

It's amazing to contemplate, I know, but plastics are quite new.... we got along without them for centuries. Practical substitutes already exist and must be encouraged, with plastics discouraged. Taxes, regulation, incentives, rules... whatever is appropriate, needs to be used to force plastics out of manufacturing and packaging. Consumer education is helpful, but when plastics are EVERYWHERE, we can only do so much as there are few alternatives and plastics are cheap. So, yes, producers need to be encouraged to use readily recycled packaging like paper, aluminum and glass. We can do our part by purchasing and using re-usables or biodegradable produces. For just one example, don't buy plastic cups, buy paper. Don't buy your soda in plastic bottles, chose aluminum or glass... both are non-toxic and readily recyclable.

[@alparslankorkmaz2964]

Nice video.

[@zirepedecaamtreaba]

Thank you, private enterprise, free markets, profit reason & capitalism.

[@ManojKumar-dw6fm]

Manh! The animation is really cool

[@ImperialEarthEmpire]

Oh great, now we gonna have an underground city full of robots with one stray cat running around solving things...

[@spiderplant]

Great video! Though I believe it would be beneficial to also discuss evolution of plastic-eating processes in comparison to the evolution and decomposition of wood, which for millions of years after its first appearance, was also like plastic in that nothing could really eat it or break it down. Even now, very few organisms actually can destroy or digest it, and they still do so rather slowly, but they do so steadily and at low temperatures. Even though you and I would have to heat wood up to hundreds of degrees to degrade it quickly, AKA burn it, you don't NEED those temperatures if you're willing to be patient.

[@suspatrick]

I hope this knowledge is applied in elementary school, because we need this as a general knowledge #saveearth

[@johnharrison7585]

Save people.

[@winzyl9546]

Then what? What exactly do you expect elementary kids to do about this?

[@hatchling88]

Using microbes to "eat" plastic might backfire as the long term results are unknown. They hold promise and should be carefully studied prior to losing them in the environment. It's truly better to stop using so many plastics, especially single use. What did we use for disposables before plastics? Biodegradable materials like paper, wood, cloth, plant and animal byproducts. We also used, still do, perpetually re-usable materials like actual china, glass and metal utensils, dishware and servers. Stores sold items in degradable packaging made from cardboard and paper. We didn't have all our purchases handed over in plastic bags... they were placed in paper bags, cardboard boxes, or we brought our own bags and baskets. We've become so lazy and complacent... people can't even be bothered to bring their own grocery totes from the car. I don't like excessive regulations or government rules, but something must encourage or force people and businesses to change their ways.

[@Urmo14]

All marine life depends on us to clean the ocean and engineer new ways to clean it up.

[@seanemery1917]

Life finds a way

[@gunasekar431]

A ray of hope

[@quadrantids8166]

Awesome animation and amazing narration as usual TED Ed!!!

[@vihangathathsara1073]

indeed

[@katherineknapp4370]

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is the motto I live by in my everyday life. I love this planet and everyone and everything on it, so I try my best to keep it going for as long as the LORD allows.

[@klinikinfo69]

RESPECT FROM INDONESIA...

[@NullNoxproduction]

Nature always pick up the slack of humanity, I am not surprised nature fixed our problem. 💯❤️👏🏿 Love the video as always.

[@jorampodcast]

Reminds me of the movie "The Graduate" when plastic technology was all the rage.

[@trisha4551]

Ah if only big corporations and government would listen to scientists...

[@furonwarrior]

Honestly, even if they did, we wouldn’t be able to produce a lot of the products we have today without plastics. We could eliminate most single use plastic and some items such as plastic tooth brushes and cleaning detergent jugs with water. Corporations could help fund research to find and culture microbes to eliminate the micro and nano plastics. It would also allow them to produce more products too as there is less guilt among consumers and local governments. But realistically, humanity is going to kill itself. It’s just a matter of how much time can we buy before the quality of life no longer becomes worth living. Enjoy the moment while we have it.

[@johnharrison7585]

Yea they listens to scientists and got people caged in their homes and injected with poison. I think the scientists need to shut up for a long time.

[@hitmanekoyslnp8572]

Great

[@limerence8365]

1:24 The plastic ring can only be destroyed in one place. In the fires once used to forge it.

[@figo3554]

Mirciplastics really do taste great.

[@user-ul9mz3me5x]

People with Plastic surgeries: Sweats nervously*

[@eduentertainment5219]

Good day, 👍 Great Videos! 😃 Well researched. Do you all have research and videos dealing with what is alzimers and how to improve or slow down the process?

[@ashinmohemmed9260]

I didnt know plastic under wears exist

[@TheChadPad]

You know those stretchy "athletic" boxers? Those are plastic

[@borjadetorres7747]

Fascinating what we can do. Either way, I must say, we are not killing our planet, just ourselves. The planet and life will survive us by a long shot, and in a couple million years there won’t be a trace of us ever existing. But life will persist.

[@RMProjects785]

bs. We'll live for billions of years onwards

[@jamesnordblom855]

I can hardly wait for these to escape into our cities and homes. They will, you know.

[@stephenlee5929]

Sounds great. Have we all read 1970's SFI, Mutant 59, or watched BBC Doomwatch also from the '70's? How much damage will this do when it escapes into the wild?

[@sooryanarayana3929]

Seems like feasible!

[@Jensenrobinb]

for the ones that will never be edible to microbes, i guess we could make diatoms that use microplastics instead of silica and they’ll be bioluminescent so we could grab them to remove plastic

[@wildlifesuport]

That can change everything

[@Hackerminde2-su9wb]

- Well, when these bacterias become too many what will we do? What if they will interfere with production? How can people control them? Video is great.

[@Meethejarate]

What I think about it: Bacteria probably won’t be enough to actually destroy enough plastic to make tons of change We shouldn’t really be creating plastic in the first place We can probably control and destroy bacteria that are in plastic plants

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Now that we have these bacteriums or whatever you call it, time to learn more of the benefits and disadvantages.

[@freddyjosereginomontalvo4667]

Awesome channel with awesome content and great quality as always say 🌍💯

[@Mizai]

2:21 the way these fish died

[@Vesta32]

Whatever we do or harm mother nature but it fights back and finds a way to heal itself.

[@johnharrison7585]

OK pagan

[@Shortypie]

Make a video about Aurdino 🙂

[@bongobongo3661]

Can't believe we still can't find microbes that break down peepees

[@annapurnamehra898]

Anyone else just watch these videos only for the soothing voice?

[@skadoodskadad316]

Neat

[@ancientwestonian]

What kind of biproduct is produced by microbes eating PET? Do they poop? Do they grow and reproduce? What happens when the plymer is "digested"?

[@nonamesleft136]

What happens when they die? Do they get eaten?

[@erikteutloff2183]

@@nonamesleft136 @ancientwestonian PET gets degraded into its monomers of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. On whether or not they poop... that depends on your definition, I guess. If your breathing out carbon dioxide counts as pooping, then yes. As bacteria are living organisms, they do indeed grow and multiply. Bacteria can do this asexually through a process called mitosis, where a "parental" cell splits into two "daughter" cells after having doubled its genetic information (so it can give one copy to each of its "daughter" cells). Usually, when bacteria die, their either killed by a predator, like an amoeba, eaten by a bigger organism and digested in their stomach acid, or because of environmental factors, like acidity/osmolarity (too much/little salt)/starvation/toxins/etc. In the last case, some can form spores to endure the conditions and start growing again later when conditions have improved. Other bacteria that do not have this ability will die, and their cell wall and membrane will degrade (called lysis). Whatever little nutrients it has will be released into the environment, where it will probably be a nutrient source for other microbes.

[@angeloavanti2538]

that's nice. so when are we going to implement it. crikey!

[@1111MeditationPortal]

There is hope. We can all do our part in saving mother earth "Gaia".

[@curtisamos1615]

I recently purchased the bose qc2 35 headphones 3d and an iPhone.......amazing what I am learning about the world 🌎 😀 😄

[@karldumoran8327]

*starts fading away*

[@LegoCookieDoggie]

I wish this video talked more about microcplatistcs too like it’s already in our bodies can they be broken down after we die? Or we’re also carrying around more plastics that will leech back into the environment. I NEED ANSWERS

[@ebossnz6838]

Mother nature's all ready doing it

[@stephanc6138]

there goes the immortality of certain projects using plastic (recycled or otherwise). eg. uses plastic in undersea cables cause it lasts ... or used to. 😆

[@nerdicus15]

This would be awesome if we could create little compost stations with these microbes in it!

[@stevens9625]

So what are the by products of those bacteria when they digest the plastic?

[@SocialNomad]

Am I the only one that's scared that these kinda bacteria can seriously ruin the kind of plastic we DON'T want to be degraded?

[@remsleep-]

please do another bat ed ted!

[@lordbanetheplayer8844]

Cool..!! Microbes that can eat me..!!

[@arun279]

I wonder if RL/ML techniques can help engineer these enzymes and microbes to tailor them to consume different kinds of plastics

[@smitpatel1461]

Mass produced plastics in 1950s, within the span of 70 years we have identified how bad plastics can be and have started taking measures like banning and finding solutions to degrade them. This PACE of progress is extremely fast compared to our human timeline. Humanity's future is very bright.

[@ly1278]

Let us all around the world help eachother and reduce pollution in all possible ways even if it is simple

[@jaimepujol5507]

But of course there's a catch: part of the usefulness of plastics is their durability. Maybe in a few years we start finding that bacteria are eating all our stuff

[@cophead9984]

Hi Ted Ed crew

[@akai6518]

Slowly but surely we find ways huh

[@lepyroshark1940]

I don't know a huge amount about this topic or anything, but from what I do know, the problem is that plastics are cheap and easily produced, so producers don't have much a reason to change. You would think literally saving the planet would be a good motivator change, but unfortunately, money is usually a better one, and what they're doing now is bringing in a reliable source of money and change might affect that. I don't want to get political (because I don't know politics lol), but that just seems to be a pretty common theme from what I've noticed.

[@johnharrison7585]

Why is plastics being cheap a problem? Do you want poor people to spend more?

[@eris9062]

@@johnharrison7585 That's not at all what they're saying, and nice virtue signalling by the way. No, what they're saying is that the issue is the lack of cheap alternatives to plastic, which incentivises companies to use plastic due to their cheap cost, so to help reduce the amount of plastic produced a cheap environmentally friendly alternative is needed.

[@lepyroshark1940]

@@eris9062 Thank you, you said it better than I could have. As someone who has faced the threat of losing many luxuries due to financial problems, I absolutely don't think it's bad that it's cheap. Like Eris said, the problem is that there's no real safe alternative, and so we're stuck with a product that just causes more and more environmental damage.

[@sierra-q]

I might be misunderstanding but they said 30% of 400 Million tons is 10 Million tons ? Or maybe the missing quantity has been recycled from the oceans (each year)