A Safe Way to Dispose of Plastics Containing BPA
The media coverage of the health dangers of BPA has really reached a state of extreme fervor these days. As a result, many consumers have replaced BPA-laden items for safer materials such as Eastar ™ Resin and Stainless Steel. While all of this is terrific for both our own health and the health of the environment, there are still many BPA-containing plastics out there and 2.7 million tons being made every day. Another big concern regarding BPA is how to dispose of it safely.
Scientists have come up with a way that they believe decomposes polycarbonate plastic without releasing BPA. The scientists, Mukesh Doble and Trishul Artham, pretreated polycarbonate with ultraviolet light and heat and then exposed it to three species of fungi known for remidiating pollutants.
After 12 months, the pretreated plastic had substantially decomposed without releasing any BPA, while the control plastic that was not pretreated before being exposed to the fungi showed almost no decomposition.