All Plastic degradation articles
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NewsNanoplastics can impair the effect of antibiotics
Researchers investigating how some of the most common nanoplastics interact with tetracycline found significant accumulation of the antibiotics on the surfaces of the nanoplastic particles.
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NewsPathogens that cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens when they hide out on microplastics in the water, reports a new study.
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NewsPlastic mulch is contaminating agricultural fields
Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affect critical soil functions, according to a study.
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NewsMangrove microbes to munch on plastic
A strategy to select mangrove bacteria that can transform plastic could offer a new tool for plastic waste cleanup, according to a study from the lab of Dr Alexandre Rosado, a member of AMI’s Ocean Sustainability Advisory Group.
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NewsWood-degrading fungal enzymes reprogrammed to biorecycle plastic
Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases secreted by filamentous fungi break down the surface of cellulose to weaken it and make complete degradation easier, making them perfect candidates for engineering into chimera enzymes for plastic degradation.
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NewsPlastic-eating enzyme identified in wastewater microbes
Plastic pollution is everywhere, and a good amount of it is composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, ♳). This polymer is used to make bottles, containers and even clothing. Now, researchers report in ACS’s Environmental Science & Technology that they have discovered an enzyme that breaks apart PET ...
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NewsWastewater bacteria can break down plastic for food
Researchers have discovered how cells of a Comamonas bacterium break down plastic for food. First, they chew the plastic into small pieces, then secrete an enzyme that breaks down the plastic further, and finally use a ring of carbon atoms as a food source.
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NewsGrazing zooplankton severely impacted by nanoplastic particles - but cyanobacteria unaffected
Researchers who studied how nanoplastic affects aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers found that some species are being wiped out, while others – such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms – are completely unaffected.
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NewsSLEEVER® and CARBIOS globally launch world’s first Home Compost biodegradable tamper evident seal
SLEEVER®, and CARBIOS have unveiled the first innovation to emerge from their partnership: SEELCAP® ONEGO, the world’s first Home Compost biodegradable tamper evident seal which integrates the encapsulated enzyme CARBIOS Active.
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NewsMicroplastics found in all three parts of coral anatomy
Researchers have found that all three parts of the coral anatomy—surface mucus, tissue, and skeleton—contain microplastics. They used a new microplastic detection technique which they applied to coral for the first time.
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FeaturesWhat a waste: poop and plastic in the study of purple martin microbiomes
Sometimes questions on conservation in research can take multiple forms.
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NewsEnzyme-embedded PLA plastic can degrade in home-compost or methanization conditions.
A new enzyme-embedded material is proven to fully distintegrate and biodegrade at a much faster rate than the 26-week home-compost certification requirement and is shown to help produce more biomethane, another source of waste recovery.
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NewsResearchers use microbes to create biodegradable bioplastics from food waste
Researchers are developing biodegradable bioplastics from food waste to give those materials a new – and useful – life.
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NewsSea fungus breaks down ocean plastic that has basked in sun’s UV rays
A fungus living in the sea can break down the plastic polyethylene, provided it has first been exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. Researchers from, among others, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) published their results in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment. They expect that many ...
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NewsStudy probes plastic particles and climate change as drivers for antimicrobial resistance
A research project targets plastic particles and climate change as driving factors for the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment.
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NewsSwarms of miniature robots clean up microplastics and microbes simultaneously
A study describes swarms of microscale robots (microrobots) that captured bits of plastic and bacteria from water. Afterward, the bots were decontaminated and reused.
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NewsBiodegradable ‘living plastic’ houses bacterial spores that help it break down
Researchers have developed a biodegradable form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), filled with bacterial spores that, when exposed to nutrients present in compost, germinate and break down the material at the end of its life cycle.
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FeaturesUnder the microscope: microplastics
Examining the issue of plastic pollution with a round-up of microbial advances from the last few years.
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NewsMicroplastics, algal blooms, seafood safety are public health concerns addressed by new US Oceans and Human Health Centers
The NIH and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) are jointly funding four new Centers for Oceans and Human Health and renewing two centers as part of a marine-related health research program.
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NewsA microbial plastic factory for high-quality green plastic
Engineered bacteria can produce a plastic modifier that makes renewably sourced plastic more processable, more fracture resistant and highly biodegradable even in sea water.
