The bacteria that eats plastic

The problem of environmental pollution is widely recognized but few people ever think about its extent. In addition, not everyone knows that a huge proportion of all waste is plastic, which does not naturally decompose and therefore can remain at the place of emission for decades. In the last 70 years, over ten billion tons of plastic have been produced in the world. Every year, this number is increased by another four hundred million tons, with its production only gaining momentum.

Meanwhile, no more than a billion tons of plastic was recycled, and about the same amount was burned. Huge waste dumps covering hundreds of square kilometers now spread over land and in the oceans. Each year, millions of animals die from plastic pollution: some by swallowing it accidentally, others because of the consequences of pollution such as fires, water body clogging, soil chlorination, etc.

Both waste dumps and plastic production are expanding in such a progressive way that scientists have expressed alarm. They said, if the situation does not change radically, very soon there will be no clean space left on the ground: the water will be completely polluted and will become unsuitable for drinking. Dozens of animal species face complete extinction — all because of the constant, uninterrupted release of plastic. Our new hope is the discovery by Japanese microbiologists who have found a new strain of Ideonella sakaiensis bacteria that eats plastic.

Before moving on to discussing Ideonella sakaiensis, let us take a few words to the characteristics of plastic, which make it such a dangerous material. First of all, most types of plastic do not decompose, so it remains in the soil, water bodies, and the ocean for many years. Although biodegradable plastic is considered more environmentally friendly, even this kind of material is contributing to pollution since when decomposed it releases methane, a gas that accelerates global warming. While the plastic thrown into the sea poisons the water with chlorine-containing compounds, the plastic stored on the ground is no less dangerous with the same reagents penetrating from the soil into groundwater or nearby bodies of water, making it unsafe.

There are millions of tons of plastic building up on huge islands in the middle of the ocean, that cover more than 10 percent of all beach areas. Unfortunately, plastic does not just lie around like a dirty mass — it also releases toxic agents into the water such as polystyrene and bisphenol A, which can lead to early cancer. A considerable part of the plastic is crushed into tiny particles, so small that it can only be removed from the water by means of a filter. Each year, an average American inhales and drinks about 70,000 microplastic particles. Although its harm is still relatively unexplored, it is believed to damage the liver and intestines. Naturally, microplastics contamination affects not only humans but also animals, especially those living in water.

At the same time, animals also suffer from bigger pieces of plastic: sharks, birds, turtles and many other creatures eat plastic by mistake, taking it for food. According to American researchers, 90 percent of seabirds carry plastic foreign objects inside their bodies…

Unique Japanese bacteria saving the Earth

According to the Japanese researchers, finding such bacteria in the animal world is a unique phenomenon, since it means the natural adaptation of living creatures to the realities of the outer world. The discovery also opens new horizons in studying bacteria, as the mechanism of action of Ideonella sakaiensis’ enzymes is very different from the ones of previously known bacterial enzymes. But the most important thing is that this breakthrough has a real practical application: the scientists are sure that further research of the strain will make serious progress and will give tangible results that can be put into practice. At a temperature of 30 degrees, the bacterial strain was able to decompose a thin PET film in 6 weeks: this is an excellent performance, however, so far it is not enough for industrial-scale application.

Professor Uwe Bornsheuer from University of Greifswald believes that the discovery of Ideonella sakaiensis is a huge step forward in the development of bioremediation, a process involving the recycling of industrial waste using living creatures. In his opinion, the metabolism, and thus the efficiency of plastic decomposition, can be increased genetically by injecting genes responsible for the production of plastic-destroying enzymes into other bacteria that are actively