Fungus That Eats Plastic

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on May 17, 2012 at 10:11am

Thanks for the post annet. This is good information. That fungus could be used in landfills to degrade plastics.

Permalink Reply by Boothby171 on May 17, 2012 at 10:33am

Before everyone gets all excited, read "Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters"

http://www.amazon.com/Mutant-59-Plastic-Eaters-Kit-Pedler/dp/067049...

I read this book over 30 years ago!  It's speculative Science Fiction about just such a microbe that gets a little bit out of hand, and eats ALL the plastic it can find.  Chaos ensues, as one can imagine.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on May 17, 2012 at 10:39am

Strikes me as a good news / bad news thing, because:

• The good news is that plastics which hang around forever can be reduced to something manageable, and perhaps with some genetic engineering on the fungus, raw material which can put pumped back into production either of plastics or something else
• The bad news is that, should this fungus get out in the field, there's an awful lot of polyurethane currently in use out there to feed on!

Control in this case is a VERY important parameter!

Permalink Reply by Sarah Walton on May 17, 2012 at 10:54am

You mentioned genetic engineering. Wouldn't it be possible to engineer a variety of this fungus that cannot reproduce without human help? I confess I don't know much beyond the absolute basics of fungal reproduction.

Permalink Reply by Clarence Dember on May 17, 2012 at 8:36pm

WOW! Great discovery.