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ARTICLE · 03 SEPTEMBER 2024

Break It Down Now: Stubborn Plastics Broken Down By Microbes

Marks & Clerk
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Plastic pollution threatens ecosystems globally, but certain microbes have evolved to degrade stubborn plastics like polyethylene (PE). Bacteria such as Rhodococcus ruber can break down PE...

United KingdomEnvironment
Kate Appleby
Kate Appleby
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Plastic pollution continues to threaten ecosystems worldwide and effective solutions to break down stubborn plastics are needed. In the meantime, nature has evolved to benefit from the surplus of plastic available to it. Particular microbes have developed ways to benefit from the waste plastic and turn it into products that can be used for energy. This means that one potential solution to the problem of plastic pollution is the use of plastic "eating" bacteria.

It has been known for some years that plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), with hetero-functionality in the backbone (in the case of PET, ester-containing backbones) can be degraded by a variety of species of fungi and bacteria.

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