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Teen figures out how to decompose plastic bags in 3 months

news.therecord.com — Ontario high school junior Daniel Burd wanted to try to figure out if there was a way to get plastic bags to decompose faster. As it stands, it takes thousands of years for the wasteful objects to disintegrate. But by using bacteria, he figured out how to make it happen in a mere three months.

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  • fitqueenb, on 05/27/2008, -14/+156If he has entrepreneurial skills, he might be able to lock in a nice retirement fund for himself! The plastic bags are a problem, and we the people need a solution now.
    • Stormwern, on 05/27/2008, -3/+12Smart for a teen, he could seriously get a nobel price for this. The "tiny amount of carbon dioxide" isn't exactly true though. Plastic consists to 90% of coal, and all of that will turn into co2, though probably environmentally sound in lack of better solutions anyway.
      • XmenArt, on 05/27/2008, -1/+5Because there's always a fortune to be made in compost...
      • PaulOwen, on 05/27/2008, -2/+12The first thing he should do is keep the process secret and apply for a patent.

        D'oh.
      • Otto, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2No, most of the plastic will turn into other bacteria. Bacteria use carbon too, you know.
        • Stormwern, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2And you didn't pull that one out of your ass, not at all. If a couple of plastic bags could generate a pound of bacteria, we'd have reason to be scared, believe me.
    • vuke69, on 05/27/2008, -9/+37Solution: Don't use plastic bags.

      But beyond that, plastic bags breaking down is not the problem. Leave a plastic bag outside for a year, and you will notice that it will have lost almost all of it's structural integrity in that short (well, shorter than 1000's of years anyhow) period. leave it for a few more years and it will basically turn to dust all by itself. It's amazing what just a little sunlight can do.

      Trying to get that to happen in an anaerobic environment is the tough part, which by the way, this kid has not managed to do.

      I applaud his efforts, but he has not managed to solve a difficult problem, he has managed to misunderstand a difficult problem, and solve a significantly easier subset of that problem.
      • phyx726, on 05/27/2008, -7/+10We've already stopped here in San Francisco.
        • itsthebrod, on 05/27/2008, -20/+10How's that dictatorship working out for you by the way?
      • ErikHarrison, on 05/27/2008, -2/+9The kid may have not managed to get them to break down in an anaerobic environment, but who is to say it wouldn't work? You the random digger?
        • vuke69, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3I sincerely hope the best for the kid. He's obviously clever.

          But if he really wants to become a gozillionaire, or possibly just the patron saint of plastics recycling and a really cool guy in general; come up with a bacteria/enzyme/solar/whatever driven process that will turn polyethylene into base materials useful for making new plastic products.

          Right now plastic recycling in general is just too energy intensive to be financially viable (for random post consumer waste, recycling of quality stock in a manufacturing environment is VERY viable). If you could replace a significant portion of that process with a natural(ish) process, it would be amazing.
        • r00fus, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1vuke69,
          It's all about economics... I agree.
          But with the current direction of petroleum prices (plastic as you know is a petroleum byproduct), I doubt plastic recycling or composting will be financially unviable for long.

          Sure there are lots of problems to be solved to make this kid's process one that can scale, but it's a good step and the kid has a bright future. He doesn't need to be the "patron saint".

      • iticu, on 05/27/2008, -1/+15Yeah, but when it crumbles into dust it's still not gone; it's just smaller, and therefore easier to get into the foodchain at lower levels.
        • vuke69, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4"...still not gone; it's just smaller,..."

          Umm, what do you think the bacteria driven process is doing? I'll give you a hint, bacteria don't consume polyethylene and then ***** rainbows. Of that 32% weight loss of the strips, 31.999% was probably left in suspension.
      • specialbuddy1, on 05/27/2008, -3/+6Hey vuke69, get off your ass and come up with something then.
        • vuke69, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4I wish I had the time, skills, and equipment.

          Can't I give a little constructive criticism without everyone thinking I'm trying to piss in his Cheerios?
        • trickyt, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1Mmmmm beerios....
      • mnemy, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Because when you throw stuff in the trash, everything in it always goes to the top of the land file, and stays on the top for years to sunlight can break it down. Yep.
    • mal1964, on 05/27/2008, -12/+4He wants to be a Scientist.
      "Dan is definitely a talented student all around and is poised to be a leading scientist in our community," said Menhennet, who led the school's science fair team but says he only helped Burd with paperwork"
      "He plans to study science"
      • soogy, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4Arr, we be thankin' ye, Cap'n Obvious. Is our brains be no good these days, can't be readin' them words. Yarr...
        • mal1964, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Soogy failed to see that Cap'n Obvious wasn't replying to him.
    • Poco, on 05/27/2008, -13/+5But what is the problem exactly?

      Is the problem that they exist in the first place? Why is that a problem? Besides, this won't solve that problem if it is one.

      Is the problem that they take up too much space in landfills? Unlikely, they probably take up a very small space in landfills (no citation, but we throw out a lot of garbage that isn't plastic bags) and the fact that they don't break down quickly is better for the environment, not worse.

      Is the problem that they are not in the landfills and floating around in the ocean? If so, then this doesn't solve anything since this process requires that you have actually collected the bags somewhere, at which point your alternative is to put them into a landfill (see previous question).
    • rentmitchum, on 05/27/2008, -11/+1Let's just burn them! LOL!!!
      • Shrooms27, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2people who play with fire wet the bed
        • rentmitchum, on 05/27/2008, -3/+1Note to digg: I don't actually type LOL like that.. it's a joke..
        • Shrooms27, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0you know what else is a joke?
          You trying to cover your ass
      • NathaMan10101, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2Thad just add to global warming.Fail.
        • rentmitchum, on 06/01/2008, -0/+1Wow.. sarcasm wasn't detected, I thought the idiotic "LOL" in caps would indicate it somewhat. Maybe "LOLZ" next time.
    • tlm2021, on 05/27/2008, -2/+12I agree with the "don't use plastic bags" solution. And not only because of how long it takes them to decompose. We're constantly worried about the oil crises, the price of gas, and the future of alternative energies. But no one wants to talk about possibly reducing our dependence on plastics. Their so cheap and convenient and they're used for just about everything thing. But guess what it takes to make plastic: oil.
    • homercles337, on 05/27/2008, -3/+7Why do so many people automatically think about money? "He's going to get rich, and quick with this scheme!" Its sad that so few think of the societal benefit to science.
      • blackinthmiddle, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4Why do so many think about money? You're joking, right?
    • DirtyRoboto, on 05/27/2008, -9/+3I always used to get rid of plastic bags by forcing them down my victims throght until a mate told me it could be percived as an MO!!!
      /sarc
    • Aroundtheworls, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2Unfortunately plastic bags will not break down on their own as quickly as vuke above mentions. At best they will break down in 10-20 years when exposed to air and 500 (or more) years when not exposed to air or sunlight.

      The bacteria researched by this teenager would need to be churned into the landfill in order to make it effective.

      Another approach is to blend the resin used to make the bags with biodegradable resin- it can accelerate the process of degradation by 100-1000x depending on how the bag is disposed. An advantage is the bag can be anywhere for it to break down- it doesn't need special bacteria to be added. The downside is cost- up to 20% more than the cost of current plastic bags.

      On the surface this should seem like nothing- after all, the cost of one bag can be less than a penny- but as major retailers spend up to $50m each on bags this is a significant investment in cost. What's needed is better understanding of the benefits and pressure for consumers to use them. In Hong Kong all plastic bags are now biodegradable- a model that should be used elsewhere.

      And no need to stop with bags- the resins are food safe so also work with plastic cutlery, ziploc bags, plastic wrap, and any other disposeable plastic material.
      • DirtyRoboto, on 05/27/2008, -3/+1So I can use biodegradable bags on my victims safe in the knowledge that they will still perform yet be better for the environment?

        {see my other reply}
      • dragon76, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I have always thought how crazy it is that a perishable item (fresh food) comes packaged in non-perishable packaging. Foam boards and plastic wrap just don't seen to make sense when you're dealing with a product that has such a short shelf life. History Channel on Earth Day was saying that 70% of our petroleum consumption comes from our food in the form of pesticides, packaging and transportation.
    • tnycatgirl, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0If a teenager can find a solution to plastic bags, or any other plastic material, to decompose at a much faster rate without any negative repurcussions to the environment, what the hell are the U.S. Government agencies who are in charge of these issues up to? Apparently, they should hire young minds like this one, pull their heads out of their butt, and really open up a forum for solutions. And even if it is a work in progress, atleast he's giving it a good shot.
  • Rubab, on 05/27/2008, -16/+22that is amazing.. i am sure this will help in eradicating those problems related to plastic bag disposing.. I heard in pakistan, there are tons and tons of trash made up of plastic bag and block the sewerage system underground.. there was another important thing, i have been hearing is that the fertility of a piece of land is destroyed for at least one hundred years if a plastic bag gets buried by chance..
    • Stormwern, on 05/27/2008, -1/+14Plastic bags have no effect on fertility, and the sewage system is too cold for the microbes to work, the decomposition would have to be done in a recycling center.
    • StealthMonkey, on 05/27/2008, -5/+18i have been hearing that aliens will come and murder us all for at least one hundred years if an absurd rumor gets spread by chance..
      • Aensland, on 05/27/2008, -3/+5I'm wearing my tinfoil hat; are you?
        • Jeffler, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4Todays tinfoil hats absorb rather than deflect...
        • NotOptium, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4Nah, Jeffler, you're just wearing it wrong. You want the shiny side out.
        • 5urr3al5am, on 05/27/2008, -2/+3enough with the damn 'tinfoil hat' already
    • xxTazxx, on 05/27/2008, -3/+1To be honest I doubt an entire piece of land will lose its fertility due to a single plastic bag, but I have heard about the sewerage issue, and let me stop there as soon as I think about how they solve that problem.

      Poo-sticks.
    • rentmitchum, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4I heard that if you stand very still in the middle of the woods, Donny Most will rise from the mist.

      (He was ralph from happy days)
      • dfeifer, on 05/27/2008, -4/+1We are showing our age on THAT one. LOL
        • rentmitchum, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2We in the royal sense? If not, sorry, I'm 24.. lol.. I just watched a lot of Nick at Nite. Plus it was a joke on Family Guy. I'll +1 you anyway. Diggers can be so mean.
    • Faiien, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2sarcasm, it's like a second language to me
  • PinkChicken, on 05/27/2008, -45/+42I hope he's not using ebola.
  • TheRealToma, on 05/27/2008, -17/+28That pic looks kind of like a bad GIF or a good ol' BMP.
    • nakile, on 05/27/2008, -2/+13It's a GIF that was turned into a JPEG. They might as well have tried spraying air freshener on dog *****...
    • woofers07, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6it's got some awesome dithering goin on there
    • mickstephenson, on 05/27/2008, -1/+14BMP's are very high quality images as they use no compression, which is why they are so big.
      • giid, on 05/27/2008, -4/+4Compounded with the fact that most BMPs are made by MS Paint adds to the quality as well.
    • toker200, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0who cares
    • ElectricKetchup, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1BMP is not compressed and GIF is lossless compression, so either way, you wouldn't be able to see the difference between them and PNG.
  • Samsong, on 05/27/2008, -33/+186Teen figures out how to decompose plastic bags in 3 months, fails to get a date for prom.
    • GTPro, on 05/27/2008, -37/+20You sir, are a douche. One would assume that making a worldwide breakthrough discovery in helping preserve YOUR environment would beat one single night at an overrated glamour party for teenagers. Take your pick- $30,000 in awards and worldwide recognition for helping make another small step to preserve our planet or a single night that will either leave you inebriated and befriending the toilet bowl and/or wishing you actually remembered the night you went on and on so much about.
      • SSUK, on 05/27/2008, -5/+38You sir, do not understand the premise of a joke. Good day.
        • GTPro, on 05/27/2008, -15/+10You sir, do not realise how old a 'joke' it really is. It's become a cliche; it does not act as a joke anymore for it has lost its humour. It's similar to the 'he has too much time on his hands' comment that used to spring up over and over again - find something new if you're atleast trying to humour someone.
        • transform100, on 05/27/2008, -3/+7You sir, oh ***** I couldn't help myself!
      • matroska1, on 05/27/2008, -3/+7Dial it down some please, internet police. The guy posted a funny one-liner on a digg article, it's nothing to be up in arms about and it doesn't make him a douche by any means.
      • treas, on 05/27/2008, -6/+8It looks like someone is butthurt because he never got a date to prom :(.

        so sorry GTPro, my condolences are with you.
        • GTPro, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3I live in Australia - no promenades here.
      • morninglorii, on 05/27/2008, -3/+3I'm pretty sure the guy who made that comment is a geek himself and is making a joke, not actually suggesting it as a fact.
      • bstew22, on 05/27/2008, -2/+10aaahhhhh the internet! i don't know what i'm commenting about i'm just typing words cause it's fun!
      • hyperwired, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3after all, the internet is serious business
    • RobotBuddha, on 05/27/2008, -7/+2I don't know. I've done fairly well for myself, but I have to admit that looking back there's some truth to the notion of using ones youth to act out all the impulsive wild oat sowings.
      • Krescentia, on 05/27/2008, -2/+0Atleast he is actually doing something and not out being a typical douchebag.
    • zkwang, on 05/27/2008, -0/+410 Years Later ...
      $1 Billion richer ...

      I dont know ...
    • worthyda, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2I bet he gets mad poontang when he's making millions though.
      • Wormfather, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Maybe even two chicks at the same time.
        • Scaryclouds, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I figured if I had a million dollars I could arrange something like that.
    • pixarman, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Beats getting stood up for your prom like I did. :(
      Prom FTL!
  • t3hbagel, on 05/27/2008, -15/+281This was JUST on the front page.
    • jakefloyd, on 05/27/2008, -12/+10Fight about it.
    • eavesdrop, on 05/27/2008, -13/+4Normally dupes annoy me but this is such a breakthrough.
    • gldfshnpcklejar, on 05/27/2008, -4/+9internet is serious business. digg fight club. go
    • patthew, on 05/27/2008, -7/+9Some diggers have lives and can't be arsed to constantly check if there's anything new. I know dupes are a problem, but bitching about it isn't going to make them go away. If you just can't wait until the digg team does something about it, then address your concerns to the "bury" button.
    • p4r4d0x, on 05/27/2008, -7/+7First time I've seen it. It really doesn't matter.
    • Osmose1000, on 05/27/2008, -3/+28This is the second time today that I have seen an article hit the front page that was on the front page less than a week ago.

      At this rate I'm thinking of just submitting every article that hits the second page of Top in 7 Days and becoming a front page superstar.
    • MetaMars, on 05/27/2008, -1/+6Yeah, but now it's new and improved, by Zaibatsu!
    • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -3/+2Screenshot or it didn't happen.
    • Pritchard, on 05/27/2008, -3/+3Top digger.
    • Pritchard, on 05/27/2008, -2/+9Attention - I am putting zaibatsu on ignore. This is probably the thousandth time I've seen this ***** submit a dupe. Yes, stupid to announce it, but after a few minutes of ranting I finally realized that a solution was here all along...
      • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -4/+1Jealous much? Yes.. Yes you are.
      • twiztidsinz, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1Attention - I am putting Pritchard on ignore. This is probably the thousandth time I've seen this ***** rant about a dupe. Yes, stupid to announce it, but after a few minutes of ranting I finally realized that a solution was here all along...
      • talkingwires, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1How do you do that? I'm not seeing an "ignore" option on his profile page or my settings page...
        • Pritchard, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I only found a blocking on comments, too, sadly. I recall people hating on the top diggers for a while, and someone replying, "Just block them and get on with your life". I tried that, but there's only an "Add Friend" option on profiles...

          Ouch. Now I feel like an ass.
  • polishdude06, on 05/27/2008, -38/+181and the bacteria go OM NOM NOM NOM
    • justinlarsen, on 05/27/2008, -38/+16i don't think the OM NOM NOM NOM joke is funny anymore, time for a new trend digg.
    • MimoSkater, on 05/27/2008, -16/+6Shut up, that is getting annoying.
    • acparks1, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3It's funny, after reading the article description, I actually scrolled down to see if anyone had OM NOMed yet...
  • crazyjake, on 05/27/2008, -15/+206this story was pretty good the first time...

    http://digg.com/general_sciences/Teen_s_Science_Pr ...
    • darkane, on 05/27/2008, -8/+6Just because it's the same subject, doesn't mean it's the same article. Do you need a tissue to dry your tears?
      • RichGC, on 05/27/2008, -4/+2This digg is actually the 3rd comment on the previous digg.

        But good science is always worth a second read :)
    • audioscience, on 05/27/2008, -2/+3I'm guessing at least 2500 of us didn't see it the first time.
    • br0wnstar, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Don't worry! Zaibatsu's on the case!
  • OfNumbers, on 05/27/2008, -17/+14Pollute the world with trillions of tons of plastic, rubber, and other synthetic materials derived from Oils. Profit.

    Overfill the landfills and open environment with these synthetic materials derived from Oils. Profit.

    Develop new bacteriums and FEED them in order to more quickly dispose of materials derived from Oils. Profit? Profit.
    • duckyinc, on 05/27/2008, -2/+3See it has gone full cycle and profit!!
    • Fordi, on 05/27/2008, -1/+7I do wonder, though. He's basically used controlled selection to breed a bacterium which will metabolize PETE into CO2 and H2O, it may be possible to control for PETE metabolization into other compounds. Given that he started with yeasts, it may even be possible to control for metabolization into a sugar, sugar alcohol, or polymer ester.

      It would be interesting if we could ferment plastics back into petrochemicals or into other fuels.
      • orlyfactor, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3I'd love to get drunk off of some PETE waste products. Woo hoo!
      • proliance, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2bacteriums?
      • Monkeydew06, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Mr. Fusion!
      • grungemusic3001, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Except the kid's research is on polyethylene not polyethlyene terephthalate (PETE). Plastic bags are made of polyethylene. PETE is used mostly in drink bottles.
        • Fordi, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Details, details. It'd still like to see what can be done beyond his original experiment.
      • StaticThunder, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Hold on, thats already been done. Look up thermal depolymerization.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerizat ...

        I don't understand why it isn't already in widespread use, since its an energy yielding process.
        • Fordi, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1Neither do I. As I understand it, though, it has to be tuned to compensate for different feedstock compositions, so the logistics get sticky for processing (for example) sewage.

          Meanwhile, TD (or TCP, as Changing World Tech calls it), has four basic output sets: distilled water, syngas (mostly methane, or CO2 and more distilled water if you're using the methane output to feed the heat requirements), petrochemicals (mostly diesel-zone n-tanes, but can be tuned for maximum octane output), and a mix of the minerals found in the input stock (makes it awesome for processing potentially heavy-metal contaminated waste). CWT's process uses the output heat to warm the input stock, and uses the syngas to meet the remaining heat needs. It's pretty efficient, too.

          Still, if there were a biological means to produce similar effects, the heat requirements go away. That means better efficiencies. S'why I asked.
    • askantik, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Ding ding ding
  • slvrbullet87, on 05/27/2008, -14/+16Good now i can quit feeling guilty about throwing them away.
    • pacificislandr4, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3Seriously. I work part-time checking groceries at a supermarket and it seems more and more people are morally against me using plastic bags.
      • flashback99, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Everyone's got bags at home but we're too lazy to walk around with them while shopping. If we make the effort, maybe they'll eventually become associated with guilt like in mumbai.
      • griz, on 05/27/2008, -2/+3Our supermarket sells good quality cloth reusable bags for $1.50. They give you a nickel off each time you use them. If you shop every week, they are paid for in less than a year. Totally worth it. Plus they hold more than a plastic bag.
  • cust0mb4ll3r, on 05/27/2008, -11/+3hahaha
  • Velnich, on 05/27/2008, -13/+110Burried as duplicate from 3 days ago.

    http://digg.com/general_sciences/Teen_s_Science_Pr ...
    • Osirus1156, on 05/27/2008, -10/+3You do realize that not everyone has seen it right? That maybe, just maybe, someone might have missed it.
      • Velnich, on 05/27/2008, -2/+8Having missed it go popular or front page is one thing, having missed it go Top in 24 hr or 7days is another.
      • gothelium, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1Myself, for instance. And I'm not some hardcore digger that checks every single section to make sure I didn't miss an article.
        • Velnich, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2As a casual digger, why wouldn't you take a look at what's been dugg the most over the time you were away? That's generally where the best quality and most interesting articles end up.

          The only real reason I can think of to avoid the higher dugg articles would be if you generally don't like what diggers find interesting.
        • rrbest, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Like, for example, fruit.
    • kmartshopper, on 05/27/2008, -3/+7Not just a duplicate - this post is inaccurate. Teen "figures" it takes 3 months. How ***** scientific is that? While he might have been awarded a prize for making them break down faster (not a simple feat), his guestimate of 3 months is just that according to the article.

      For those who get wrapped up in sensationalism (99% of Digg), read the following FTA:

      At 37 degrees and optimal bacterial concentration, with a bit of sodium acetate thrown in, Burd achieved 43 per cent degradation within six weeks.

      The plastic he fished out then was visibly clearer and more brittle, and Burd guesses after six more weeks, it would be gone. He hasn't tried that yet.
    • musagha, on 05/27/2008, -2/+3Buried for duplicating a guy's post above you "crazyjake"
    • chanop, on 05/27/2008, -4/+5I bet the people that bury this as a dupe, are digging the Obama duplicates to the top ten every day
    • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -4/+1Screenshot or it didn't happen.
    • mnemy, on 05/27/2008, -2/+2Some of us don't read digg on our weekends. Ever think of that?
    • madm0nk, on 05/28/2008, -1/+2Buried for spending too much damn time on digg to notice. Get a life, go outside.
  • cust0mb4ll3r, on 05/27/2008, -11/+2hahahha
  • ChronicColonic, on 05/27/2008, -12/+2I did not have what it takes to get this to front page...worthy of two diggs. Glad it got there! http://digg.com/environment/Teen_Decomposes_Plasti ...
    • DaviDTC, on 05/27/2008, -3/+3I just dugg your story in hopes it too gets on the front page.
    • theHM, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4I just buried yours for spamming this thread and for the fact you dugg a blog that added no extra content to the story.
      • ChronicColonic, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I submitted it this way because this is the link I saw first.
  • spyd3rweb, on 05/27/2008, -6/+16How about recycling them?
  • quomen, on 05/27/2008, -8/+63Isn't Zaibatsu a top submitter? Didn't this story get 4,000+ Diggs a few days ago?
    This is why I hate these guys.
    • XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, on 05/27/2008, -1/+18He also tried to submit the Stewie picture again:
      http://digg.com/comics_animation/This_Is_What_Stew ...
    • kutateli, on 05/27/2008, -4/+22And you ***** KNOW he saw the dupe when he was submitting this. What a ***** *****.
      • HeavyWave, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6In case you didn't know digg shows duplicates when you submit a story. Ignoring that and still submitting the same story doesn't make Zaibatsu a smart man.
      • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Hahaha.. PWNED!!!
    • dleesgeetar, on 05/27/2008, -9/+4holy crap, give the guy a break he's not perfect, if its still getting diggs it means people still didnt see it, so bury it and get on with your life
      • HeavyWave, on 05/27/2008, -1/+8doesn't mean *****. ALL top submitters just use the army of their friends, they (friends) don't even look at the story and digg everything. this is the major problem of digg algorithm and this is the reason why people don't like MrBabyMan. and not just because he's an ***** or anything.
    • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1Screenshot or it didn't happen.
    • concertmaps, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2and it got another 1900 today. not everyone reads digg 24/7. i for one would have missed this very interesting story if it had not been reposted
    • Kronk42583, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3he's also dugg 1450 articles in the past 30 days... where threre really that many stories worth digging? its people like this that somehow get some pleasure out of high digg ratings that make this site a competition instead of a site that selects only newsworthy stories. ban him!!
    • staffell, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1for you to actually "hate these guys" must mean you lead a very sad life
  • efitz11, on 05/27/2008, -12/+14but he's from canada
  • mangomilk, on 05/27/2008, -5/+5good to see in retrospect what kind of effort self-claimed 'environmentalists' have put into saving the environment.
  • andy314159pi, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6It is better to leave that carbon fixed.
    • Poco, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4No, no, clearly releasing it into the atmosphere by breaking it down is better. I mean, if you bury it, it will just sit there, doing nothing.
      • MacParrot, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4"it will just sit there, doing nothing."
        Obligatory pun about gamers and digg users
  • Atlantics, on 05/27/2008, -7/+1Anybody want a beer? I'm buying.
    • burjzyntski, on 05/27/2008, -1/+0Can you mail it to me? I've got some stamps for some reason...
  • brainscab, on 05/27/2008, -8/+9Dupe from a few days ago. Last I heard this was a promising but unproved method. Unless there has been a break through maybe it should stay off the front page.
    • Nollykin, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1What? A misleading, unproven theory posing as hard facts makes it to Digg's front page?

      UNHEARD OF
  • DroppedGT, on 05/27/2008, -7/+10Buried - rerererepost
  • mesmeriffic, on 05/27/2008, -8/+111He figured it out again?! Holy *****. Einstein only found out the mass-energy equivalence once, while this kid is making breakthroughs in decomposing plastics multiple times a week.
    • lacosanostra008, on 05/27/2008, -6/+4i see what you did there
    • kroft, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Well, I believe generation Z is rubbing it in your face that they're not just a bunch of brain-dead ruin... for the most part. But when is that not ever true, really?
  • DaviDTC, on 05/27/2008, -3/+9His next science project needs to be how to make the spammers check the duplicate story generator.
  • jjive, on 05/27/2008, -17/+4Too bad it will take him 18 more years to learn how to get some pun-tang
    • B3000, on 05/27/2008, -1/+10"Pun-tang"? Is that some kind of orange drink made from comedic homophones and homonyms?
    • jjive, on 05/27/2008, -8/+3Sex with a female.
      I know it's hard for you to understand.
      • theHM, on 05/27/2008, -0/+5You're thinking of "poontang", which is a word generally used by those who aren't getting any.
        • jjive, on 05/27/2008, -4/+1That's very anal of you, to correct my slang for getting some.
        • Fordi, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4"That's very anal of you"

          That's what SHE said!

          u_u yes, I know. Couldn't help myself. Digg me down.
        • MacParrot, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4"That's very anal of you, to correct my slang for getting some."
          Yes because obviously if you claim to be getting laid in some anonymous internet form it must be true. You should have cut your losses with "pun-tang"
    • funk49, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3If he actually came up with a method to degrade plastic bags (and was smart enough to file a provisional patent before releasing the info), he can buy his chicks with the money that will be falling out of his ass.
    • person425, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1haha lulz at the jealousy :-p

      Check the article. He is very active in school sports and school politics. I don't think he has much trouble attracting females. You don't have to be a stoned retard to get action.
      • TVarmy, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Duuude... what if we isolated this culture and fed it a plastic bag?
  • Akraz, on 05/27/2008, -13/+9This was on the front page 2 days ago. Fail.
    • transform100, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1Um everything was on the front page 2 days ago? it's the apocalypse!
    • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Screenshot or it didn't happen.
    • Quaterni0n, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3I didn't check Digg 2 days ago because it was the weekend, so I'm glad it got resubmitted. You fail!
  • dpogni, on 05/27/2008, -5/+11Damn, good for him. Back when I was 16, my headline would have read, "Teen hooks up with sorta hot girl", or "Teen gets gets really drunk and pukes on moms garden"
  • jimbo92107, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6Daniel Burd. Remember that name. Direct problem solving, simple focus, sound scientific method.
    He could be the next Dean Kamen.
    Don't let 'em put you into a cube, kid!
    • Nollykin, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Well said. The method he used seemed very decent.
  • goalieguy314, on 05/27/2008, -2/+5Damn. Good for him!
  • soupkambing, on 05/27/2008, -5/+0He's my hero.Too bad he didn't make a superhero suit that could destroy all the plastic's evil nemesis in the world.Anyway thanks to his project it is a one step to save mankind.
  • Strenoth, on 05/27/2008, -3/+2What I'm really interested in, is now that he's made these concentrated cultures, and once more people start doing so, will it be inexpensive to grow a large concentration of them and poor them onto, say, landfills where they will be able to begin growing rapidly from there? ie, will a wild culture that is populous to cause faster effects be able to be produced?

    If this is a goal wants to aim for, it seems to be that once you have a large culture formed, you would encourage natural selection by adding more plastic to the solution, but cease to add any other form of food. Thus the ones that eat plastic most efficiently will rapidly begin out breeding the others. If this experiment is performed multiple times starting from soil samples taken all over the world, then strains from each of these samples are mixed together in another solution where they would compete even more and possibly exchange some genetic material, I would imagine that with in a decade or so you could easily breed a super-plastic eater.

    Once done, grow in large quantities, and distribute gallons of heavy concentration to various landfills across the world. From there, nature should take care of the rest.
    • Poco, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1... and you end up with a toxic sludge building up in landfills around the world, yeah!

      Perhaps leaving it in plastic bag form is better, no?
      • dacrazydude, on 05/27/2008, -1/+0or the damn bacteria spread and slowly degrades the plastic in our cars and homes.
      • saviourseph, on 05/27/2008, -0/+0Polythene breaks down to CO2 + water (seeing as it's just basically a giant alkane) - no toxic sludge.
    • Fordi, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1I don't think it would be wise to let a plastic-eating bacteria go wild.

      First, the easiest way to obtain unexpected variations is to allow for mass population in a friendly environment; you're likely to get an airborne strain in relatively short order.
      • Strenoth, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1true, but if the bacteria was naturally voracious in an open, dry environment we would have had issues with these bacteria before.

        Bacteria like it wet, warm, and not to much light. Even the most efficient plastic eaters are only going to work well on plastic bags underground or under water. They likely already exist in small numbers every where.
  • Jassman, on 05/27/2008, -10/+3Are you serious? Do the Admins not remember to look over the past week's stories for duplicates?

    /Sarcasm
    //coming here from Fark tonight
    • RobotBuddha, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Their eyes are still blind from all the white in the site redesign.

      /Still not over it
      //Ok, I am, but I like the occasional injoke
    • bhjodokast, on 05/27/2008, -1/+0Screenshot or it didn't happen.

      I for one never saw the 'original post'.
    • Mpwns, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1fark is still the king but im sure total fark is just like digg with tons of dupes so i never got it.
  • foovo, on 05/27/2008, -9/+4Whereas a plastic bag can decompose a teen in just 2 months.
  • Jarulf, on 05/27/2008, -7/+4This or a plastic bag ban is what we need. Or a epic plastic bag tax rise.
    • desertDenizen, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Impose a five cent tax on each bag and watch use of them drop 95% over night. Ya know... I used to be strictly laissez-faire, but that damn tragedy of the commons just brings out the worst in people. Well chosen regulation just makes more sense to me now WRT enforcing property rights, despite the unintended consequences. That's what experiments and tweaking are for. Everything in balance... if only they had a RonPaulbama.
      • askantik, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Plastic bag tax has been used for years in parts of Europe. They do a lot of things like that, things we could learn from... But they're *****' socialists!!! KILL THEM!!!!!!!

        /end sarcasm
  • robotkad, on 05/27/2008, -2/+2The kid looks like DaxFlame.
    • calebrown, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Jacob was Dax's science lab partner, after all.
  • RandomGorilla, on 05/27/2008, -6/+23That beaker he's holding? Part of his meth lab.
  • TonyTheTerrible, on 05/27/2008, -10/+2obviously fake
  • godzillaWax, on 05/27/2008, -13/+4Buried as inaccurate.

    His method would require heating compounds at 80+ degrees for three months straight before being used in decomposing plastic. The energy required to handle that -- especially on a large, industrial scale -- far offsets any gains we'd make by being rid of the plastic bags.
    • theHM, on 05/27/2008, -1/+5The bacteria generate all the heat they need in metabolisis. All they need is adequate insulation around the incubator.

      For clarity, it would make sense to say 80+°F, since not everyone uses Fahrenheit and the article uses Celsius.
  • HotDogBun, on 05/27/2008, -10/+4This kid needs to put that brain to work making bongs out of everyday household items.
    • flashback99, on 05/27/2008, -0/+7you dont need a brain to make a bong. Just weed and willpower.
  • vivalagoat, on 05/27/2008, -8/+1meh, either way im still just gonna dump then in the river...
  • craiginct, on 05/27/2008, -10/+16Still sounds like something far more productive than spending hundreds of millions to see if there is ice on Mars.
    • Jashobeam5, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Well said.
    • Nollykin, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Hear Hear.
    • LingNoi, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Why not do both? Or are we all suppose to do what you say now? All hail craiginct, listen to our glorious leader who will tell us all what to research even if we don't specialise in that area.
  • RSS14, on 05/27/2008, -6/+2I saw this three days ago; I remember because I shat my pants when I read the article.
  • UpperUpsilon, on 05/27/2008, -11/+1Did it take him three months? I could have done it in two if I tried.
  • florafernandes, on 05/27/2008, -3/+0The story is well and good.
  • vi3telit3, on 05/27/2008, -1/+13The kid knows this is an awesome discovery. The adult chemical engineer in me knows that a 3-month reactor residence time is not economically feasible. I hate growing up :(
    • musicmanryan, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1Better than 300,000 years!
      • concertmaps, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1not economically speaking - in the long run, we are all dead.
      • thehouse, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2I think you're about 300 times over on that. But I have also heard 20 years. Things like this are the problem with environmentalism. So much misinformation doesn't make people thing: "hey this really could be a problem." People start to think: "***** this, I'm getting lied to!" FUD is a killer. Chose your words wisely. If you really want to make a change be honest.
  • raej, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1and still decomposing....
  • ibone, on 05/27/2008, -9/+3Buried. Dupe.
  • klhigg04, on 05/27/2008, -3/+4That is pretty smart, but I just recycle my plastic bags... I guess it would be useful for rubbish bags in ladfills though. Not to bellitle what he's done, its pretty cool, but I'm sure it would be cheaper to recycle or reuse them
    • latinjones, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3Plastic is difficult to recycle. The recycled plastic has a lot of limitations that things like recycled glass and aluminum don't have. Where you might take recycled cans and use the recycled materials to create new cans, Plastic is different. You won't find yourself drinking water from a recycled plastic bottle.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling
      • SpeedStix, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Not only that but people seem to ignore the fact that it takes lots of energy to transport, process and reuse recycled materials. Sometimes it takes less energy to create a product from scratch then it does to reuse a material. I am not against recycling but that is one of the problems with it. I think decomposing it is a much better idea, unless of course there are some revolutionary breakthroughs in recyclying dealing with plastic.
  • luckyguy2000, on 05/27/2008, -6/+2and the decomposition products are carcinogen while poisoning the ground for years and make it unusable
    • person425, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2"the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide"

      which of those two seem scary to you?
      • askantik, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1I think he was being sarcastic...
      • TVarmy, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1I once heard about a dude who died from drowning in water. And carbon dioxide is like poop from your lungs.
  • DustyinBFE, on 05/27/2008, -5/+2Very very impressive. Although they do already have an incinerator that isn't widely used at all yet that can do it in a few seconds. And I'm not talking fire=pollution either. I'm waiting for that one to take off. It will solve a lot of issues.
    • gsiliceo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1then, what are you talking about, incinerated plastic bags = flower perfume?
      • Nollykin, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1I'm sure it's much more complicated than that. I don't know what he's talking about, but if it's being pitched as a viable green technology, I'm pretty sure it's more than "put bags in fire, see smoke come out".

        Common sense, troll.
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