SUSTAINABILITY

Beginning our Journey: Identifying the Problem 

“There must be a better way to make the things we want, a way that doesn’t spoil the sky, or the rain or the land.” - Paul McCartney.

According to the WCED, sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations [3]. To ensure prosperity and peace by 2030, 17 SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 [1][2][4]. Our project contributes to meeting various SDGs using synthetic biology to combat ever-increasing plastic accumulation.

SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Plastics are known to have detrimental impacts on many organisms. They cause gut dysbiosis - inflammation and changes in the gut microbiome [8]. Microplastic exposure to mice brain results in a decrease in GFAP (glial fibrillary acid protein) which is often associated with neurodegenerative diseases [9]. Detrimental impacts in plants led to changes in root traits and tissue composition [10].  

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Our interactions with Ms. Arjitha A Gopal, Health Inspector, Katpadi Junction provided interesting insights. To prevent microplastic leaching, quality checks are often performed for PET water bottles on a monthly basis at Perambur and Guindy in the State Government Food Analysis Lab. However, despite best efforts to segregate waste on a contract basis, PET plastic bottles often end up being disposed incorrectly into water bodies, leaching microplastics into them.

3.9
By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination

Our solution enables substantial reduction of plastic contaminants in the soil, by allowing faster PET degradation. Throughout our project, we also ensured the proper disposal of our genetically modified E.coli and other toxic chemicals to prevent pollution and reduce toxicity.

Interactions with Ms. Aritha A Gopal, Health Inspector, Katpadi Junction

SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Our solution helps reduce plastic accumulation in water bodies, improving the quality of water. The presence of plastics in water is known to cause lung diseases, cancer, and birth complications in humans [12]. It is also known to injure and kill seabirds and fishes [13].

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On the water quality index, India ranks 120 of the 122 countries which implies that about 70% of the water is contaminated [14]. One of the major reasons for water contamination was identified as landfills where a large proportion of plastics are deposited [16]. By promoting recycling of plastics, our project circumvents this problem.
In the course of performing experiments, we have ensured the sustainable use and management of water. Among the various targets of SDG 6, we have addressed:

6.3
By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally [5]

• Our solution employing FAST PETase and mutated MHETase provides a sustainable method for improving the water quality.
• Genetically modified organisms were an integral part of our project and hence, their proper disposal was mandatory. To reduce the release of bacteria directly into the water, the inoculated media were autoclaved following the standard guidelines.
• Our hazardous wastes were disposed of via Kenbiolink, the State government-approved Biomedical waste disposal company. This ensured the proper treatment and incineration of our waste, minimizing the release of hazardous materials and chemicals in water.

6.6
By 2030, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes [6]

• Our project aids the protection of water bodies from plastic contamination. This is extremely crucial as microplastics tend to undergo biomagnification in the aquatic food chain.
• Microplastics, which are found widely in the water bodies are not degraded by metabolism, and are subsequently accumulated with each trophic level. The highest titer is found in the last trophic level which is often occupied by humans [6].
• The production of an efficient plastic degrading system helps reduce plastic accumulation and restore water-related ecosystems.

6.a
By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies [6]

• Our campus promotes waste-water reuse and has water treatment systems in place.
• Our project helps improve the quality of wastewater. The removal of microplastics from waste water results in the removal of major water contaminants, aiding water treatment.
• We also adopted water reuse strategies in every step of our project. For instance, the water used for autoclaving was reused. The ice used for storing competent cells was later reused for washing, when melted.

6.b
Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management. [5]

• This target has been central to our human practices, as we have interacted with various stakeholders, such as grabage collectors, shopkeepers selling PET bottles, officials at local municipalities and health inspectors to analyze the effect of plastics on water bodies, and also allow local community participation in sanitation.
• Our cleanliness drive at Katpadi station also mobilised people in our town towards sanitation.
• We also spoke to Dr Latha Srinivasan, Professor, School of Applied Sciences, VIT to gauge the specific impact our project has on local communities and water bodies. Dr Srinivasan has previously worked on chitosan-based chromium bioremediation strategies to treat tannery effluents in and around Ranipet. Therefore, she gave us key feedback about the impact our project could have in polluted localities at Vellore.

SDG 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Since the 20th century, there has been a boom in the usage and production of plastic. The lack of proper waste management practices led to plastic accumulation in landfills and oceans.

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When we reached out to Dr Prakash Rao, Deputy Director and Associate Professor-Energy and Environment, Symbiosis Institute of International Business, we gained fundamental knowledge about the behavioural aspects accompanying the reduction of PET plastic waste. Dr Prakash Rao advised us to be more cognizant of the possible ways in which one can involve the community to make spaces sustainable. We took a leaf from his book and evaluated the utility of our dual enzyme system in our locality and if it can succeed to bring change.

Our project focuses on PET plastic and microplastic degradation and thus the promotion of efficient waste management practices is necessary. Further, proper waste management has also been followed by our team throughout the term of the project.

11.6
By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management [7]

• Our team was focused on the proper segregation of plastic waste during our work. We took extensive care to minimize the use of plastics, and the plastic used was discarded into separate garbage bins.
• Our campus also has a waste segregation unit and a biofuel production plant which contributes to the SDG target. This contributes to lowering the adverse impacts of improper waste management in our city.

SDG 12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

To truly understand why certain consumer patterns are difficult to change when it comes to PET plastic usage and disposal, and to figure out effective implementation strategies, we spoke to Mr. Manil Agarwal, Founder, SustEnable. SustEnable is a platform that combats consumerism and helps spread the message of sustainable living. Mr Agarwal emphasized on local approaches to bring the gravity of the problem home and talked about how consumer patterns are vastly different in the Global South. He urged us to inculcate storytelling devices to bring about a behavioural change, and uproot consumerism, as the age-old art of storytelling holds a lot of value in the Indian context to impart scientific knowledge.

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Plastic, however, is still a vital part of our everyday life, and also has several industrial applications. For instance, food industries widely use plastic containers for food packaging as it helps in maintaining the freshness of the food when compared to the regular packaging. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage people to make sustainable choices to prevent plastic overuse.

In conversation with Mr. Manil Agarwal, Founder, SustEnable (https://www.sustenable.co/)

Since, plastics cannot be completely phased out, there is a need for better degradation strategies. Plastic is a polymeric material and is known to contain stable chemical bonds. When additives are added during manufacturing, the stability of these bonds is enhanced, making natural decomposition difficult [17]. Our project uses mutated enzymes which enhance the degradation and when combined with the sustainable use of plastic will help combat plastic contamination.

Sustainable and economic use of reagents and chemicals is an important prerequisite for any project. So, our team focussed on the proper use of resources at every step.

12.4
By 2030, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment [11]

This was a part of our daily day where we focussed on reducing the usage of plastics and its release in the environment.

• For all literature studies, the digital mode was used. This minimized the usage of paper and other resources. All computations were computer based and all calculations were used in the project. So, no extra energy or resources were taken.
• Sufficient media was prepared at once and stored for further use, instead of wasting autoclavable bags and time.
• We preferred using paper-based labels instead of plastic-based ones.
• The use of one-time plastic was completely discouraged, as we used nitrile gloves instead of plastic ones.
• We also maintained a proper record to monitor the sustainable use of chemicals. Thus, we ensured proper management of chemicals and wastes, to reduce their hazardous impacts on the environment.

12.5
By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse [11]

This target aims at reducing, reusing, recycling resources and preventing the release of chemicals in the environment. Our team mainly focussed on reducing the use of plastic in every stage of our project.

• The use of plastics was reduced in the labs as we reused autoclave bags for decanting. Also, glass beakers and petri dishes were used instead of plastic ones.
• Disposable weighing trays and plastic inoculation loops were replaced by paper and nichrome loops.
• For UV spectrophotometric analysis, we mainly used glass cuvettes rather than plastic ones.
• We used glass spreaders during the spread plate and also used toothpicks in colony PCR.
• During our collaborations and seminars, digital posters were used. Our survey was conducted digitally.
• We were able to spread awareness about minimizing the use of plastics through the labs of VIT.
• Our team uses steel bottles rather than plastic ones.
• Our campus prohibits the use of one-time plastics and encourages the using paper cups and plates. Also, the use of steel plates and cutlery is promoted in hostel canteens. In the shops too, foil packaging is used for packing food items and the use of paper straws is promoted. Throughout the campus, we use bioplastic garbage covers.
• The government of Tamil Nadu, India has imposed a plastic ban on single use plastics from January 1, 2019 and this has been reinforced in 2021. According to a report, over 1178 tonnes of plastic waste has been generated daily in the state and this is an attempt to curb the exponential generation of plastic waste [18].

SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainable use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Conversations with Dr Amitava Mukherjee, Professor and Director-Centre for Nanobiotechnology, VIT shed light on the deleterious impacts microplastics leached from PET bottles can have in marine ecosystems. These microplastics often behave as carriers of toxic wastes, transporting them over greater distances than normal.

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Marine resources are vital for the human race. Apart from being an indispensable part of the food chain, they are also potential sources of cosmetics, medicine and energy. They are known for their widespread industrial applications [19]. However, plastics in the ocean pose serious threats for marine resources [20]. Improper waste management practices causes microplastics to mix up in drains, and streams thus landing up in oceans and other water bodies [21]. So, we believe that the use of our efficient plastic degrading enzymes could prevent the accumulation in water bodies and hence contributing to the SDG.

14.1
By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution [22]

Marine pollution by plastic debris is one of the pressing needs to be addressed. According to a report, about 400 million tons of plastic wastes are produced globally and 80% of the wastes end up in the ocean. This is found both in the deep sea and surface waters and thus the removal of these plastic debris is essential [23]. Our project can reduce plastic accumulation and microplastic contamination in marine sources.

14.2
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans [22]

The accumulation of plastic in the marine ecosystem has several adverse effects. Over 800 species of marine life are affected by the plastic debris. Often, sea birds, fish and sea turtles get strangled by large bits of plastic, or they ingest small bits of plastic which use them to die of starvation [24]. Thus, we believe that it becomes our responsibility to enhance plastic degradation and to reduce the adverse impacts of plastics in the marine ecosystem.

References:

[1] https://sdgs.un.org/goals
[2] https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/case-studies/2020/aug/take-part-leaf
[3]https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/what-is-sustainability/#:~:text=The%20most%20often%20quoted%20definition,to%20meet%20their%20own%20needs.%E2%80%9D
[4] https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals#:~:text=The%20Sustainable%20Development
%20Goals%20(SDGs)%2C%20also%20known%20as%20the,people%20enjoy%20peace%20and%20prosperity
[5] https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7567360/#:~:t ext=Microplastic%20(MP)%20contamination%20has%20been,occur%20in%20marine%20food%20webs
[7] https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11
[8] https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/impact-of-microplastics-on-gut-microbiomes#:~:text=Exposure%20to%20plastic%20has%20led,and%20resulting%20in%20microbial%20dysbiosis
[9] https://ryaninstitute.uri.edu/microplastics/#:~:text=Brain%20scans%20in%20young%20and,may%20contribute%20to%20brain%20disease
[10] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b01339
[11] https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12
[12] https://www.earthday.org/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-impact-of-plastics-on-human-health/#:~:text=Exposure%20to%20plastics%20has%20been,earth%20for%20generations%20to%20come.
[13] https://cleanwater.org/problem-marine-plastic-pollution#:~:text=In%20the%20ocean%2C%20plastic%20debris,of%20all%20marine%20mammal%20species.
[14] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/unlocking-the-vast-potential-of-water-quality-data/
[15] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111747/india-number-of-districts-with-contaminated-water-by-contamination-type/
[16] https://cleanstreets.westminster.gov.uk/plastic-waste-complete-guide/#:~:text=The%20benefits%20of%20reducing%20plastic%20consumption%20include%3A,which%20contribute%20towards%20climate%20change
[17] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784321000140
[18] https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2022/jul/19/lack-of-alternatives-to-single-use-plastics-dampens-efforts-in-tamil-nadu-2477998.html
[19] https://www.yaclass.in/p/social-science/class-9/hydrosphere-12314/movement-of-the-ocean-12242/re-6a02dbae-6aa3-4b48-9152-6e12998e7cfc#:~:text=The%20world's%20demand%20for%20energy,dependent%20on%20abiotic%20marine%20resources.&text=With%20the%20increasing%20needs%20of,at%20a%20very%20high%20rate.
[20] https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/marine-plastic-pollution#:~:text=Impacts%20on%20marine%20ecosystems,stomachs%20become%20filled%20with%20plastic.
[21]https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/how-does-plastic-end-ocean#:~:text=Litter%20dropped%20on%20the%20street,plastic%20surge%20in%20our%20seas.>
[22] https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal14
[23] https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/marine-plastic-pollution
[24] https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/09/24/plastic-pollution-affects-sea-life-throughout-the-ocean
[25] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goal_3
[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goal_6
[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goal_11
[28] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goal_12
[29] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goal_14