[Graycliff]

Have a question about the lasts for hundreds of years comment. How do they know, where do we have landfills with 200 year old plastic in it? Not trying to be a smart azz, just curious.

[S0122017]

Have a question about the lasts for hundreds of years comment. How do they know, where do we have landfills with 200 year old plastic in it? Not trying to be a smart azz, just curious

Im guessing they made an estimate based on the fact that bacteria can't break down ordinary plastic. Another solution would be to engineer bacteria that can break down ordinary plastics, but that is a bit difficult and unpredictable. I heard that a bacteria might mutate to do this naturally in time though, however it might take a long time before a bacteria is that desperate that it needs to evolve for that, since plastic won't make for first choice food.