Scientists create mutant enzyme that recycles plastic bottles in hours

Bacterial enzyme originally found in compost can be used to make high-quality new bottles

A mutant bacterial enzyme that breaks down plastic bottles for recycling in hours has been created by scientists.

The enzyme, originally discovered in a compost heap of leaves, reduced the bottles to chemical building blocks that were then used to make high-quality new bottles. Existing recycling technologies usually produce plastic only good enough for clothing and carpets.