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Pakistani and Chinese researchers have discovered a fungus which feeds on plastic in a rubbish dump in Islamabad.
A study titled "Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Aspergillus tubingensis", authored by nine researchers from Pakistan and China ─ who stress the need for "new, safer and more effective ways to degrade waste plastic" ─ found that the fungus aspergillus tubingensis can break down non-biodegradable plastic in weeks by secreting enzymes which pull apart individual molecules.
Lead author of the study, Dr Sehroon Khan from the World Agroforestry Centre/Kunming Institute of Biology, was quoted by the World Agroforestry Centre as saying that her team had been looking for ways to degrade waste plastic that "already existed in nature".
"We decided to take samples from a rubbish dump in Islamabad, Pakistan, to see if anything was feeding on the plastic in the same way that other organisms feed on dead plant or animal matter," she said.
The study says that the fungus was tested in liquid, soil and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) plate — that is primarily used for the isolation of dermatophytes, other fungi and yeasts — in order to discover the ideal conditions for it to be most effective.
Khan and her team discovered that while the fungus decomposed plastic in all three mediums, bio-degradation was highest when it was cultured on an SDA plate, followed by liquid and soil respectively.
According to the World Economic Forum, the fungus lives in soil but researchers say that it can also survive on plastic surfaces.
On its own, the plastic can take decades to decompose and is dangerous as it can carry carcinogens as well as other lethal pollutants.
The discovery of Aspergillus tubingensis can prove to be a solution to this threat. The fungus can be used in waste treatment plants to treat plastic particles that have polluted water supplies as well as soil.
The discovery of Aspergillus tubingensis is the most recent in the field of mycoremediation, a process that uses fungus to degrade polluting substances.
Comments (18) Closed
Well done to our researchers.
This could be a very useful discovery. I hope it works out on large scale too.
Great accomplishment we need further work to use it effectively to reduce waste.
Great work. We should also encourage people and businesses, not to use plastic bags.
Good dear nature helping us. Adding to that discovery, I would like to inform that I have observed an Iron eating fungus, also in Islamabad.
This is a good news. They should first publish the report in a scientific journal to convey the message to the community.
Continue working and bring change in this world! Best of luck
This would be a world saver, keep it up.
Good job ...but doesn't mean that we should still use plastic in abundance ...the lesson is we should try to reduce it's use and introduce other products like paper bags or cotton bags to keep recycling them ....I hope some sense will come in the mind oh big companies who are mention money for their own benefit by making plastic bags and are not bothered about the pollution they are part off ......
Islamabad needs more such fungi, especially those which eat politicians.
This looks like a fluke. Is there s mechanism associated with this phenomenon. What about fungus invading house holds and chewing up all plastic.
Great work Pakistan. That is the kind of export that the world anxiously wants coming out of Pakistan - not the current one.
This fungus has one draw back as it is to be handled with great care because it may cause cancer. Some caterpillars are recently discovered which consume plastic may be at a slower rate but do not pose health hazard.
I wish Pakistan could learn from China's outstanding efforts towards increasing forestation and reducing pollution which ultimately reduce the affects of climate change. Increasing the forests level to about 23% of the total land is an achievement in its self but the situation in Pakistan is grim as only 2.1% of the land is covered with forests and as a result it is among the top 10 countries prone to disasters.
This is indeed a discovery of significant value. Let's see how well is this fungus put to use
Great work.
Plastic is going to destroy life on land and oceans in the near future due to lack of degradation. Hope this discovery will also prompt less plastic use.
this will benefit world to tackle plastic waste problem hope solution works also for non-recyclable plastic