A fungus that can “eat” plastic has been
discovered in Pakistan. This discovery could tackle the growing plastic problem
the planet is currently facing, by cutting the lifespan of plastic from up to
1000 years, to just weeks. One of the largest environmental problems we
are currently facing is plastic. Taken from sas.org pollution
facts and figures:
In 1950, the world’s population of
2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, a global population
of more than 7 billion people produced over 320 million tons of plastic. This
is set to double by 2034. Every day approximately 8
million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans. There
may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the
open ocean. Weighing up to 269,000 tonnes.
It takes anywhere from a decade to 1000 years
for plastics to properly degrade, so you can see how this is a problem that
needs to be given attention before it is too late. Cue Aspergillus tubingensis,
a fungus that has been shown in a recent study to break down chemical bonds in
plastic. In lab experiments, researchers found this unique fungus has the
ability to feed off of plastic. The experiments were published by Environmental
Pollution, via ScienceDirect. They found that when the fungus is introduced
to polyester polyurethane plastic, the mycelium caused degradation and
scarring.
The Pakistan study has shown that fungi could
be “developed into one of the tools desperately needed to address the growing
environmental problem of plastic waste” Fungi also has the ability to feed on
pollutants such as oil, toxic chemicals, and even radioactive waste.
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