Keeping up with Climate Tech vol. 8

All images credit: Breaking

Plastic waste is everywhere—from landfills to oceans to the air we breathe.

Today’s primary recycling processes are inefficient — crushing and grinding in recycling plans destroys the fibers in plastics and renders them unable to be reused. So only 9% of plastic makes it to a recycling plant. The rest ends up in landfills, waterways, or is incinerated, which releases toxic gases into the atmosphere.

Breaking is taking a radically different approach, is applying synthetic biology to the problem of plastic degradation, using engineered microbes to break down plastics much faster than natural processes allow and with no negative environmental consequences.

“Colossal had long analyzed the destructive impact of plastic contamination on global species populations and evaluated various solutions to address the devastating impact,” Ben Lamm, co-founder and board member of Breaking, told the Harvard Technology Review.

That research led to a breakthrough discovery—a microorganism capable of degrading some of the most persistent plastic pollutants. Now, Breaking is focused on scaling that technology into a real-world solution that could redefine waste management.

The Origins of Breaking

Breaking’s roots trace back to Colossal Biosciences, the company co-founded by Lamm and Dr. George Church, PhD, best known for its de-extinction efforts and pioneering work in genetic engineering. As Lamm explained, it was impossible to ignore the growing plastic crisis and its devastating impact on ecosystems.

“The major challenge in managing plastic waste is that plastics are designed to be durable, making them resistant to natural degradation. We see a critical gap in the plastic waste ecosystem: traditional recycling is inefficient, and plastics end up in landfills, waterways, or incinerators, causing environmental and health hazards,” he said.

He went on to explain how Dr. Church’s pioneering discovery on how microorganisms can break down plastic pollutants led to the establishment of Breaking.

“Based on this breakthrough work, the team at Colossal partnered with the Wyss [Institute] on the technology with Harvard University, hired scientists from Harvard, and raised funding to create Breaking with the goal of developing and commercializing this breakthrough technology to address one of the biggest issues facing our planet,” he said.

Breaking was built with a clear mission: to use synthetic biology to engineer microbes that can efficiently and sustainably break down plastic waste.  

X-32: The Microbe That Breaks Down Plastic

At the core of Breaking’s innovation is X-32, a microbe discovered by Dr. Church in 2022 at the Wyss Institute. Unlike naturally occurring bacteria, which take hundreds to thousands of years to degrade plastic, X-32 is genetically engineered to accelerate this process dramatically to as little as 22 months.

“The team discovered that X-32 could degrade most major types of plastics, including nylons, polyesters, polyolefins and polyamides,” Lamm said. “Most interesting is that polyolefins are plastics that have some of the toughest carbon bonds, and X-32’s performance in breaking down these types of plastics is a major breakthrough for the industry.”

Polyolefins, which include polyethylene and polypropylene, are among the most widely used plastics in the world—found in packaging, textiles, medical devices, and more. Breaking’s ability to degrade these materials sets it apart from previous microbial solutions, which have been limited in scope.

And as X-32 degrades plastics, it creates biomass with molecules that could be valuable for the production of biodegradable plastics, biofuels, and high-value chemicals.

Optimizing X-32: How Breaking Uses Synthetic Biology

Natural microbes do not break down plastics quickly enough to be a viable solution to the plastic crisis. Breaking’s approach, however, involves engineering microbes to make them more efficient. To speed up this process, Breaking has used advanced machine learning, bioinformatics, and computational software to fully annotate X-32’s genome and increase its degradation efficiency.

“Our understanding of the genes responsible for degradation allows us to adapt X-32 for different plastics, environments, and use cases,” Lamm noted.

By leveraging these technologies, Breaking can precisely engineer X-32 to target specific plastic waste streams—making it a scalable and adaptable solution across multiple industries.

Where Will X-32 Be Used? Real-World Applications

Breaking’s technology has the potential to be used across several critical areas of plastic waste management.

“Nearly every industry relies on plastic in some capacity, leading to significant plastic waste,” Lamm said. “Our technology offers a solution across these industries, helping to reduce and manage plastic waste effectively.”

Among its primary applications are:

• Landfills, where X-32 is used to accelerate plastic breakdown in controlled waste management sites.
• Ocean Cleanup, where X-32 is deployed in bioreactors to degrade microplastics in marine ecosystems.
• Industrial waste, where X-32 manages manufacturing byproducts and excess plastic waste at the source.

“Beyond [these], we are also interested in tackling larger challenges, including landfill reduction and ocean and wastewater cleanup, to create a more sustainable future,” Lamm shared.

Is X-32 Safe? Addressing Ecological and Ethical Concerns

The introduction of engineered microbes into the environment naturally raises concerns about unintended ecological consequences. Breaking has prioritized safety and sustainability in its approach.

“We do not see risks or ecological concerns associated with deploying X-32,” Lamm emphasized. “We are very focused on all regulatory and safety requirements associated with deploying any type of enzyme or micro-organism.”

Rather than releasing X-32 directly into natural environments, Breaking is using a closed-system approach.

“Our initial deployment approach is to leverage existing bioreactors that use other enzymes and bacteria to address toxins in water and debris,” Lamm explained. “X-32 will be another enzyme introduced into these existing closed systems to eliminate micro and nano plastics.”

By focusing on contained environments, Breaking ensures that its technology remains controlled and does not disrupt natural ecosystems.

Regulatory and Market Challenges

Despite its potential, Breaking must navigate some regulatory hurdles.

“Deploying X-32 for plastic waste management will encounter standard regulatory practices, particularly around biosafety and environmental impact,” Lamm said. “To address these challenges, Breaking is prioritizing the development of closed-system applications and enzyme-based applications that are commonly used today.”

Breaking is committed to working closely with regulators to meet biosafety standards; ensuring full transparency in research and deployment; and partnering with policymakers and environmental organizations.

The Future of Breaking: What’s Next?

Over the next five years, Breaking has ambitious goals for its technology. When asked what success looks like for Breaking, Lamm said he hopes the company can reduce “a major cause of species extinction by reducing the amount of micro and nano plastic contamination on our planet.”

Lamm’s entrepreneurial philosophy is to solve “meaningful, hard” problems driving “real-world global impact on the ecosystem and living beings.” So this effort is personal, and he takes it seriously.

“There’s a lot of work left to be done,” Lamm said. “This isn’t just about fighting plastic pollution,” Lamm said. “It’s about building a future where we no longer have to live with it.”