Newly discovered cold-adapted microbes digest plastic at low temperatures

Plastic waste management is a non issue! If anyone suffers from plastophobia, please seek immediate medical help!

"Swiss scientists have discovered new cold-adapted microorganisms that can degrade different types of plastic at temperatures lower than currently required. ...
Already, several [other] microorganisms that "eat" plastic have been discovered. These bacteria and fungi produce enzymes that break down the plastic, but when these enzymes are expanded to an industrial scale, they usually only work at temperatures above 86 °F (30 °C). ...

Each of the strains was assayed to assess its ability to digest non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable polyester-polyurethane (PUR), as well as two commercially available biodegradable mixtures of polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA).

The scientists found that at 59 °F, more than half (56%) of strains – 11 fungi and eight bacteria – digested PUR, and 14 fungi and three bacteria digested PBAT and PLA. None of the strains could digest PE, even after 126 days spent on the plastic. ..."

From the abstract:

"Increasing plastic production and the release of some plastic in to the environment highlight the need for circular plastic economy. Microorganisms have a great potential to enable a more sustainable plastic economy by biodegradation and enzymatic recycling of polymers. Temperature is a crucial parameter affecting biodegradation rates, but so far microbial plastic degradation has mostly been studied at temperatures above 20°C. Here, we isolated 34 cold-adapted microbial strains from the plastisphere using plastics buried in alpine and Arctic soils during laboratory incubations as well as plastics collected directly from Arctic terrestrial environments. We tested their ability to degrade, at 15°C, conventional polyethylene (PE) and the biodegradable plastics polyester-polyurethane (PUR; Impranil®); ecovio® and BI-OPL, two commercial plastic films made of polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA); pure PBAT; and pure PLA. Agar clearing tests indicated that 19 strains had the ability to degrade the dispersed PUR. Weight-loss analysis showed degradation of the polyester plastic films ecovio® and BI-OPL by 12 and 5 strains, respectively, whereas no strain was able to break down PE. NMR analysis revealed significant mass reduction of the PBAT and PLA components in the biodegradable plastic films by 8 and 7 strains, respectively. Co-hydrolysis experiments with a polymer-embedded fluorogenic probe revealed the potential of many strains to depolymerize PBAT. Neodevriesia and Lachnellula strains were able to degrade all the tested biodegradable plastic materials, making these strains especially promising for future applications. Further, the composition of the culturing medium strongly affected the microbial plastic degradation, with different strains having different optimal conditions. In our study we discovered many novel microbial taxa with the ability to break down biodegradable plastic films, dispersed PUR, and PBAT, providing a strong foundation to underline the role of biodegradable polymers in a circular plastic economy."

Newly discovered cold-adapted microbes digest plastic at low temperatures

Plastic gobblers found in alpine and arctic soils Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL have discovered microbes that degrade plastic at cool temperatures. This opens up new perspectives for recycling certain types of plastic. Most known microbes require at least 30°C for their decomposition work.

Discovery of plastic-degrading microbial strains isolated from the alpine and Arctic terrestrial plastisphere (open access)

Under the microscope the decomposition work by the microbes is visible on this biodegradable plastic foil.