While sifting through plastic waste, a team of Japanese scientists discover bacteria capable of breaking down and ingesting polyethylene terephthalate (PET) type of plastic. This type of plastic is the most commonly used type and can take up to 400 years to completely break down. Scientists in both Britain and America were able to mutate the enzyme, so it could break down the plastic more efficiently. The new mutation was also created through an accident. As the scientists were observing the samples from the Japanese bacteria, they shined intense X-rays on it to see individual atoms, thus causing some of the genes to mutate. They are now trying to engineer the enzyme for industrial use. With more than one million of plastic bottles being thrown away each day, plastic waste is quickly building up. Many of the researchers are showing optimism about the discovery, because it is a start in combating the plastic problem. However,  it still is not a permanent solution.