The ICM-CSIC is part of a consortium seeking to transform degraded plastic waste into new resources through advanced biotechnology.
The Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) has joined the ambitious OCEANZYME project, an initiative focused on developing cutting-edge technologies to tackle ocean plastic pollution. Coordinated by the Asociación Vertidos Cero, the consortium includes AIMPLAS, the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), and the ICM-CSIC.
Unlike conventional mechanical recycling—which is often ineffective for highly degraded marine plastics found in the deep sea, where densities reach up to 300 objects per square kilometer—OCEANZYME focuses on enzymatic recycling. This technique breaks down polymers via biological processes to reintroduce them into the value chain, particularly within the fishing and aquaculture sectors.
“OCEANENZYME was born with the ambition of applying a pioneering integrative analysis. Our goal is to combine metagenomics, enzymatic characterization, and molecular simulations with the isolation of degrading bacteria to discover biotechnological solutions hidden in the ocean," explains Silvia Acinas, an ICM-CSIC researcher involved in the project.
This technical ambition translates into an opportunity for environmental sustainability. Francesco Colizzi, currently a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC)—whose participation in the project stems from a long-standing collaboration started during his previous tenure at the ICM-CSIC—notes:
"In OCEANZYME, we seek to decipher whether and how nature is already responding to the plastic challenge. Our work focuses on identifying and optimizing these enzymes so they can 'digest' waste under controlled conditions, a fundamental step toward transforming trash into raw material and moving toward a true circular economy."
Methodology and technology transfer
The research is supported by passive fishing campaigns in the North Atlantic and Levantine-Balearic demarcations to remove and characterize plastic waste. From these samples, the microorganisms that colonize the plastics are studied to find bacteria with degradation potential. Subsequently, the identified enzymes are modeled in 3D along with the plastic, allowing their production and testing to validate their use in industrial recycling applications.
OCEANZYME not only seeks to protect marine ecosystems, but also to promote technology transfer and the circular economy. The project offers a scientific solution to waste that has lost its original properties due to environmental degradation, ensuring that the innovation reaches the productive sector with a solid communication and dissemination strategy.
The initiative has the collaboration of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Pleamar Program, and is co-financed by the European Union through the EMFAF (European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund).