Plastic-eating microbes found in the Alps and Arctic.

Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute WSL have discovered microbes in the Alps and Arctic that can digest plastic at low temperatures, potentially reducing the costs and environmental burden of an enzymatic recycling process for plastic. The researchers sampled 19 strains of bacteria and 15 of fungi growing on free-lying or intentionally buried plastic in Greenland, Svalbard, and Switzerland. While none of the strains were able to digest non-biodegradable polyethylene, 56% of strains were able to digest biodegradable polyester-polyurethane and plastic mixtures of polybutylene adipate terephthalate and polylactic acid at 15°C.