Plastic-Degrading Enzymes as Sustainable Solutions for Plastic Waste

The global proliferation of plastic waste presents an urgent environmental challenge, exacerbated by the limitations of current recycling and disposal technologies. In re-sponse, biocatalytic degradation using plastic-degrading enzymes has emerged as a promising solution for sustainable plastic waste management. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the discovery, characterization, and engineering of enzymes capable of depolymerizing synthetic plastics. Enzymes such as PETases, cutinases, lipases, laccases, and peroxidases are examined in terms of their catalytic mechanisms, substrate specificity, and microbial origins. Special attention is given to developments in protein engineering, including the creation of highly efficient variants like FAST-PETase, as well as the integration of enzymes into immobilized sys-tems and synthetic microbial consortia. The review also explores novel sources of plas-tic-degrading activity, including insect gut microbiomes and environmental meta-genomes, highlighting their potential as genetic reservoirs for future biotechnological applications. Finally, the practical applications of these enzymes in enzymatic recy-cling, bioremediation and industrial processes are discussed, while identifying current limitations and future directions. The convergence of enzyme discovery, synthetic bi-ology, and circular economy principles may ultimately lead to scalable and sustainable strategies for mitigating plastic pollution.