All articles tagged with #plastic degradation
Scientists are exploring the potential of fungi, particularly mycelium, to address environmental challenges such as plastic waste and pollution, with innovations like fungi-activated diapers that could decompose plastics within a year and fungi-based materials for packaging, insulation, and chemical production, highlighting fungi's versatility as nature's original engineers.
Scientists have discovered ocean bacteria with a specific enzyme motif called M5 that enables them to break down plastic, indicating an evolutionary response to human pollution and offering potential for improved recycling technologies.
New research using computer models reveals that plastic pollution in the ocean persists for over a century due to slow breakdown and sinking processes involving marine snow, helping to explain the 'missing plastic' problem and highlighting the need for long-term policy solutions.
Scientists at Brandon University discovered that waxworms, the larvae of the greater wax moth, can break down plastics like polyethylene and store the degraded material as body fat, offering a potential biological solution to plastic waste management, though a diet solely of plastic harms the caterpillars' health.
Waxworms can eat and break down plastic, specifically polyethylene, thanks to enzymes in their saliva, and they store the plastic as body fat. However, a diet solely of plastic shortens their lives and reduces their mass, making them unsuitable for direct environmental cleanup. Researchers see potential in re-engineering their plastic-degrading pathways or using them in controlled, co-supplemented environments for plastic waste management and possibly producing insect biomass for commercial use.
Researchers discovered that the hospital pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa can produce an enzyme called Pap1 that allows it to break down and feed on plastic, potentially impacting the use of plastics in medical settings and highlighting the need for antimicrobial solutions in medical plastics.
Microplastics, formed from the breakdown of larger plastic items, are increasingly found in our environment and bodies, posing potential risks to our endocrine and cardiovascular systems. Despite the widespread use of plastic in everyday life, recent studies highlight the need for greater awareness and research into the health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics, as well as more effective measures to limit exposure and pollution.
Researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of Cape Town have found that brightly coloured plastics degrade into microplastics faster than plainer colours, with red, blue, and green plastics becoming brittle and fragmenting more quickly. The study suggests that manufacturers should avoid using these colours in products to reduce environmental pollution and improve recyclability.