Bacteria can make it easier to break down plastics

Even about one in five bacteria can break down plastics.

This was discovered by chance at Leiden University in the Netherlands when researchers were looking for new antibiotics.

In the past, researchers have of course found many individual bacteria that use plastic as raw material and break it down.

Doctor student Jo-Anne Verschoor27, surprisingly found that in his experiments, almost a fifth, or more than 18 percent, of the bacterial strains degraded the plastic.

From here says the announcement of Leiden University.

Found there is only one but. Bacteria need the right conditions to break down bacteria.

Bacteria, for example, have to be starved, says Verschoor.

His research published scientific journal Nature Communications Biology.

If Verschoor’s discovery turns out to be universally valid, can bacteria really help people with plastic waste problems.

More and more it has been found that certain bacteria can break down plastic into small particles. Then the plastics can be recycled more easily.

The young microbiologist from Leiden University was able to use a large collection of different bacteria in his experiment.

They were widely available at the university. Researchers used them in the search for new antibiotics.

Bacteriawith whom Verschoor worked, was therefore not collected with the decomposition of plastic in mind, says website Phys.org.

Verschoor’s collection was therefore “neutral” in a way.

In laboratory experiments, Verschoor exposed different species of bacteria to different substances and conditions.

He observed how the bacteria were able to break down, for example, PET plastics, which are quite familiar to us consumers, for example from plastic bottles.

Bacteria the decomposition of plastics has usually been looked at from a different angle.

“For example, it has been monitored which bacteria would thrive in a landfill,” says Verschoor.

If the bacteria are surrounded by sugar and thus get energy, we don’t do anything that requires too much effort.

However, if the bacteria are “hungry”, they start looking for food.

In the experiments, Verschoor added different plastic models to the bacterial plates.

For example, he offered the bacteria perforated pieces of plastic.

Verschoor’s discovery could greatly expand the strain of bacteria we can use to break down plastic.