The plastic eaters

<p>Every year the world produces 400 million tonnes of plastic – the same weight as all the humans on earth.</p><p>Only a small proportion of this is recycled, and this isn’t proper recycling but “downcycling” – the new plastic is of a lower quality, meaning that almost all plastic eventually goes to waste.</p><p>But now French company Carbios is using enzymes to break plastic down into its chemical building blocks – which can then be used to make high quality plastic again.</p><p>So is plastic on the brink of becoming a resource like glass or aluminium, that you can keep on moulding and recycling again and again?</p><p>Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter/producer: William Kremer Series producer: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Penny Murphy</p><p>email: peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk</p>