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A newly discovered plastic-eating bacteria could save water sources. By Rupendra Brahambhatt A team of researchers at Cambridge University has detected the presence of a naturally growing plastic-eating bacteria species in 29 European lakes. Surprisingly, the plastic-feeding microbes discovered by the researchers grow better and faster on the remains of plastic bags thrown in water bodies. |
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Zapping scrap plastic from cars can turn it into recyclable graphene. Matthew Sparkes The average US car now contains hundreds of kilograms of plastic that end up in landfill when the vehicle has outlived its use, but a new process could convert those waste plastics into graphene that can be used to create new car parts. |
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What will the UN’s plastic treaty mean for businesses? By Sarah George Four months on from the UN’s landmark agreement on a new treaty aimed at ending plastic pollution globally, experts from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Consumer Goods Forum weigh in on what developments so far mean for policymaking and the private sector. |
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Microbes that devour plastic offer hope for recycling plans. By Mark Buchanan Plastic has become so enmeshed in our ecosystem that bacteria have evolved to digest it. Oddly enough, those bugs might now offer a ray of hope. A key barrier to cost-effective recycling is finding chemical enzymes able to break down plastic quickly. |
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Polystyrene-eating beetle larvae could help us recycle plastics. Carissa Wong Enzymes produced by gut bacteria in larvae of the beetle Zophobas morio can digest polystyrene. The enzymes could be adapted to degrade plastic in recycling plants.A previous study had found that another type of beetle larvae can eat and digest the expanded polystyrene used in packaging thanks to the action of Serratia fonticola bacteria in their guts. Now, researchers have identified polystyrene-degrading bacterial species in the guts of Z. morio larvae – which are known as “superworms” because of their size. |
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Floating trash collectors are stopping garbage from reaching the ocean. By Stephen Beacham Boyan Slat, CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, talks about the new and improved river plastic Interceptors and the nonprofit's plans for building and deploying more of them around the world. |
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That’s all for now. Issued in public interest by Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment,
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