The bacterium Rhodococcus ruber eats and actually digests plastic. This has been shown in laboratory experiments by PhD student Maaike Goudriaan at Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).
Shopping bags are made up of polymers of ethylene i.e., PE. (2) Certain microorganisms such as bacteria (e.g., Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp.) and fungi (e.g., Mucor sp., Rhizopus sp.), produce extracellular PE degrading enzymes.
Plastics are non-biodegradable i.e. they cannot be decomposed by the microorganisms such as bacteria.
German research from 2016 showed that various bacterial species of the genus Vibrio can attach themselves to floating microplastics. Vibrio bacteria are known as pathogens that can cause infections in both humans and animals. Vibrio cholerae causes cholera in humans.
Since the FAST-PETase enzyme degrades plastic and handles variations in temperature simultaneously, it would be effective in non-laboratory conditions. This new discovery could be a major advantage to environmental organisations and other agencies focused on cleaning up the environment.
Waxworms are the caterpillars of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella. These insects are common pests of apiaries and feed voraciously on honeycomb. Interestingly, they also voluntarily feed on polyethylene, a type of plastic commonly used in shopping bags.
Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic bags have been discovered in the saliva of wax worms, which are moth larvae that infest beehives.
Scientists believe this is a natural adaptation by the bacteria. This adaptation is possibly in response to the large number of plastics in the environment. PETase allows the bacteria to eat plastic bottles and other similar plastics. As the enzyme breaks down plastic, the bacteria produce MHETase.
In sum, the results suggested that the plastic pollution in lakes is “priming” the bacteria for rapid growth—the bacteria are not only breaking down the plastic but are then more able to break down other natural carbon compounds in the lake.
Polypropylene, a hard to recycle plastic, has successfully been biodegraded by two strains of fungi in a new experiment led by researchers at the University of Sydney.
But PET is made with chemicals that bacteria cannot consume. That is not to say that plastics can't breakdown, they do, but it takes a long time; plastic bottles take up to 450 years to decompose in landfill.
Larger pieces of plastic in the sea or on land, such as bottles and plastic packaging, become brittle and gradually break down. This is due to sunlight, oxidation or friction, or by animals nibbling on the plastic. This plastic break down process goes on forever, although the speed depends on the circumstances.
It turns out there are a few reasons things aren't so simple: Plastic isn't all the same. Many enzymes or bacteria only work for one specific kind of plastic, and much of our trash combines several kinds of plastic.
Plastic pollution may have met its unlikely match: the saliva of wax worms. In a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, researchers discovered that enzymes in the saliva of wax worms can readily degrade polyethylene, a common form of plastic used in bags and other packaging materials.
Algae, particularly microalgae, can degrade the plastic materials through the toxins systems or enzymes synthesized by microalgae itself while using the plastic polymers as carbon sources.
After analyzing the bacteria, the scientists found that it produced two digestive enzymes called hydrolyzing PET or PETase. When these enzymes interact with PET plastic it breaks down the long molecular chains into shorter chains (monomers) called terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.
While Zophobas morio is commonly referred to as the superworm, they are actually insect larvae which eventually metamorphose into a species of darkling beetle. Scientists were interested in them because of their moderately large size, incredible appetite, and impressive mouth parts. “We knew they were eating machines.
Of all parasitic diseases, malaria causes the most deaths globally. Malaria kills more than 400,000 people each year, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dioctophyme (=Dioctophyma) renale, the giant kidney worm, is the largest known parasitic nematode infecting humans — adult females can reach over one meter in length.
The Galleria mellonella larvae, also known as the “wax worm,” can seemingly “eat” polyethylene, one of the longest-lasting plastics that is very simple to make but hard to break down. Subsequent tests revealed the capability of these worms to chemically dissolve plastic at an unprecedented rate.
That involves producing, consuming and throwing away fewer plastic items, especially single-use ones. And the change is much easier than one might expect. Refusing plastic bags and making sure you have a reusable bag at hand when you go grocery shopping is a great first step to reducing your plastic waste.
Place food items in plastic or glass air tight sealed containers. Refrain from using plastic bags as flour mites can easily chew through the plastic material.
For the best results always use a non-diluted alcohol rinse when washing. Additionally, both rubbing alcohol and grain alcohol kill bacteria on plastic surfaces. Soak the plastic: For complete plastic sterilization soak the plastic container in a bleach-water solution of about 5 to 10 percent bleach.
PETase got its name from its ability to degrade these PET plastics. To deconstruct PET plastic even more quickly and at low temperatures, researchers adjusted PETase to create a new enzyme, called FAST-PETase, which gives bacteria the ability to recycle waste plastic efficiently.
Outdoors, UV light is present in amounts great enough to blitz polymer molecules. With enough exposure, UV light can cause a chemical reaction in the plastic, which results in scission, or severing, of those big polymer molecules.