Pantry Pests Harbor Plastic-Chomping Bacteria

MTorrice writes In the U.S. alone, consumers discard over 32 million tons of plastic each year, only 9% of which is recycled. Polyethylene is one of the most popular and, unfortunately, persistent types of plastics. Bags, bottles, and packaging made from the polymer accumulate in landfills and oceans across the globe. Scientists have lamented that the material isn't biodegradable because microbes can't chew up the plastic to render it harmless. However, a new study reports the first definitive molecular evidence that two species of bacteria, found in the guts of a common pantry pest, can thrive on polyethylene and break it apart.

Comments

Re:Great Idea.....

[khallow]

Excuse me, but could you lose your shit on somebody else's internet? I'll just note that this goes beyond making plastic pieces smaller, since the bacteria are actually digesting it and breaking it down into smaller, simpler, more digestible molecules.

Re:It turns plastic into starch, like potatos

[Anne Thwacks]

Please replace one of the present /. editors with this guy IMMEDIATELY