Researchers at Tel Aviv University create sustainable tech that could rid the oceans of plastic

A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a process to make bioplastic polymers that do not require fresh land or water, resources that are scarce in much of the world.

The polymer is derived from microorganisms that feed on seaweed, and is biodegradable, produces zero toxic waste, and recycles into organic waste.

The researchers harnessed microorganisms that feed on seaweed to produce a bioplastic polymer called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and was found thanks the raw material of multicellular seaweed, which can be eaten by single-celled microorganisms which produce a polymer that can be used to make bioplastic.

Dr Alexander Goldberg, Tel Aviv University’s Porter for the School of Environmental and Earth Sciences, said: “PA partial solution to the plastic epidemic is bioplastics, which don’t use petroleum and degrade quickly. But bioplastics also have an environmental price. To grow the plants or bacteria to make the plastic requires fertile soil and fresh water, which many countries, including Israel, don’t have. Our new process produces ‘plastic’ for marine microorganisms that completely recycle into organic waste.”

The United Nations calculate that plastic accounts for up to 90 per cent of all the pollutants in our oceans, but Dr Goldberg says the new study could revolutionise the world’s effort to clean oceans, without affecting arable land and without using fresh water.

He said: “Plastic from fossil sources is one of the most polluting factors in the oceans. We have proved that it is possible to produce bioplastic completely based on marine resources in a process that is friendly both to the environment and to its residents.”