TEEN DISCOVERS SECRET TO FAST DECOMPOSITION OF PLASTIC BAGS
July 1st, 2008
BY MONICA DOBIE
A CANADIAN teenager has made a significant discovery on the decomposition of plastic bags as part of a science project.
Daniel Burd, a 17-year-old student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute in Ontario, found that using two types of bacteria Sphingomonas and Pseudomonas, was most effective at breaking down the polyethylene when combined with some sodium acetate and incubating the solution at 37 degrees.
Mr Burd was able to degrade the plastic by 43% in six weeks compared to the hundreds of years it takes without such treatment. His discovery earned ...
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