Discover the Plastic-Eating Bacteria That Could Help Save Our Oceans

In 2018 biology student Morgan Vague stumbled upon a potential solution to plastic pollution, one of the most urgent environmental crises on Earth. Vague, a student at Reed College in Oregon, started breeding microbes in her lab. She found that these microbes were able to break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into harmless byproducts.

Used in drinks bottles, food packaging, and clothing, PET is one of the most common plastics in the world. PET takes centuries to biodegrade, reaping considerable damage to the environment in the meantime, particularly the world’s oceans.

How big a problem is plastic pollution?

According to the International Union for Conservation, more than 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year for use in a variety of different applications. A staggering 14 million tons of plastic enter the world’s oceans annually. The plastic then finds its way into watercourses, where it is washed downstream and enters the sea through tributaries.

Plastic accounts for 80 percent of all debris found in the sea, from the ocean surface to deep-sea sediments. Meanwhile, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, measuring an incredible 1.6 million square million kilometers across, serves as a lasting reminder of humankind’s careless attitude to plastic disposal.

Plastic debris poses a risk to marine species in a variety of different ways. Animals can become entangled in it, resulting in severe injuries and death. Also, plastic ingestion is a colossal problem in our oceans today, as fish, mammals, and marine birds inadvertently swallow debris and plastic particles. These materials accumulate in their stomachs, inhibiting appetite and culminating in starvation.

Along with numerous other environmental bodies, the International Union for Conservation is lobbying for urgent action to tackle the increasing problem of ocean plastic pollution, a problem that not only threatens marine species and environments but coastal tourism, food safety and quality, and human health. It also contributes to climate change.

Conservationists report startling ocean plastic statistics, including the following:

• Globally, more than 1 million single-use plastic bags end up in the trash per minute.
• Plastic packaging creates more than 80 million metric tons of waste annually in the US alone.
• Fifty percent of plastic produced globally is single-use plastic.
• Eight million pieces of plastic are deposited in the world’s oceans every day.

How close are we to producing plastic-eating microbes on an industrial scale?

Vague explains that if the process she observed in her laboratory could be sped up, it could play a big part in countering plastic pollution. Just 10 percent of discarded plastic is recycled; the rest is dumped in landfills or finds its way into our seas.

Vague forms part of a new wave of researchers seeking out organic solutions to the ever-increasing problem of plastic pollution. In 2016 Japanese scientists also discovered bacteria capable of decomposing plastic after scooping up sludge outside a bottle recycling plant in Osaka. The team discovered that Ideonella sakaiensis degraded PET. Nevertheless, the scientists surmised that it would take an astronomical amount of the bacteria to have any impact on the tens of millions of tons of plastic waste that we generate every year.

Speaking with The Independent, Vague explained that when she started learning about the statistics of plastic waste, she recognized it as a very serious problem that must be addressed. After learning all about bacterial metabolism, realizing “all the crazy things bacteria can do,” Vague decided to try to identify a microbe strain capable of degrading “straight-from-the-store” plastic.

Hunting for microbes around refineries in her hometown of Houston, Texas, Vague searched for strains that had adapted to degrade plastic, just like those in Osaka. Returning to her college in Portland, she tested approximately 300 strains for lipase, a fat-digesting enzyme that has the potential to break down plastic, making it more palatable for bacteria to digest.

Vague identified 20 different microbe species that produced lipase. Three of these boasted high levels of the enzyme. Putting the three microbes, one of which was previously undiscovered, on a forced diet of PET, Vague was stunned to find that the bacteria had indeed digested the plastic.

Vague explains that bacteria that break down PET produce harmless byproducts that do not damage the environment. Lipase breaks down hydrocarbons in PET so that bacteria can use it as fuel, essentially turning plastic into food.

Island Green Living Association

Island Green Living is a trailblazing organization that has enacted meaningful environmental change in the US Virgin Islands and beyond. With breakthroughs in the development of plastic-eating microbes reported by Forbes in 2021 forecasting a potential scale-up to industrial-scale facilities, Island Green Living and other conservation organizations will no doubt be waiting to discover whether Ideonella sakaiensis and other PET-eating bacteria can turn the tide on plastic pollution.

Originally published at https://ralphhollowaythurman.com on March 3, 2022.