Living Organisms Are Starting to Consume Plastic Waste

Summary

The video examines organisms and biological processes that might help break down plastic, while emphasizing that these discoveries have not yet made plastic pollution easy or economical to solve. It opens with a crab found trapped in a plastic bottle off Japan, illustrating how discarded plastic can endanger wildlife.

The video also describes a proposed food-making process presented for NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge. PET plastic and agricultural waste are processed with heat and pressure, then genetically engineered yeast converts the resulting carbon-rich liquid into a nutrient-rich material called “Microbite.” The yeast is said to produce ingredients resembling vanilla flavoring and beta-carotene. The process is presented as a potential way to turn plastic into useful products, rather than as conventional recycling.

The scale of the problem is substantial. The video states that humanity has produced about 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic since the 1950s. Of that, it says, about 9% has been recycled, 12% burned, and 79% remains in landfills or the environment.

Organisms and Approaches Discussed

• Superworms (Zophobas morio): Larvae raised on polystyrene foam survived, completed development into adult beetles, and gained mass. However, their gut microbial diversity declined, suggesting that plastic alone is an unhealthy diet. The video notes that raising enough worms to process plastic at scale would be impractical.
• Plastic-adapted gut microbes: Researchers at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University fed plastic to the worms, then isolated microbes from their guts. In laboratory flasks, the microbial communities adapted over six weeks and became more specialized at breaking down several kinds of plastic.
• Cow-rumen microbes: Doris Ribitsch’s team investigated microbes in cows’ stomachs. Because cows digest cutin, a natural plant polyester, the researchers tested stomach fluid against plastic. The fluid broke down several plastics in one to three days; bacteria including Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter were implicated.
• Fungi: Several fungi have shown plastic-degrading abilities:
  • Pestalotiopsis microspora, identified in the Amazon, can use polyurethane as a carbon source, including in low-oxygen conditions.
  • Aspergillus tubingensis has also been reported to break down plastic.
  • A study of white-rot fungi from Sri Lanka found that Pholiota dualba consumed about 25% of plastic grocery bags over 45 days when no other food was present.
  • Arctic fungi from the genera Neodevriesia and Lecanicillium were reported to digest multiple tested plastics at around 15°C.
  • Soil fungi including Aspergillus terreus and Anguillospora degraded polypropylene after UV treatment. The video describes this as a record-fast result of 140 days.

How Fungi May Work

Some fungi appear to use powerful oxidizing enzymes that also break down wood and bark. Many fungi tested so far work best at relatively warm temperatures, though Arctic species may offer options for colder conditions.

Why Plastic Recycling Remains Difficult

The video identifies three broad obstacles:

• Chemical complexity: “Plastic” includes many categories and thousands of formulations, with different additives such as dyes, flame retardants, and stabilizers. Mixed plastics are difficult to process together, and a particular microbe or enzyme may work on only some materials.
• Energy and processing demands: The video cites Carbios, a company that uses enzymes to process PET. It describes an industrial process that can handle about 250 kg per day but requires shredding, pressure, heating, chemical treatment, and additional chemicals that create waste.
• Economics: New plastic is made from ethylene, described as a cheap fossil-industry byproduct. This makes virgin plastic difficult for recycled material to compete with without subsidies or strict regulation.

The video concludes that microbes and fungi reveal promising biological capabilities, but they are not yet a practical, large-scale fix. It argues that reducing plastic waste and designing products that avoid plastic are central to long-term sustainability.

Researchers and Sources Featured

• Hiro Jayakody — microbiologist associated with the “Microbite” concept
• Researchers who documented the crab trapped off Japan — not named in the subtitles
• Researchers at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore — not named in the subtitles
• Doris Ribitsch — researcher associated with the cow-rumen study
• Professor Renuka Attanayake — associated with the Sri Lankan fungi study
• Amira Samat — graduate student associated with the polypropylene-degradation study
• Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute WSL — not named in the subtitles
• Carbios — company cited as an example of enzyme-based PET processing
• Studies and scientific papers linked in the video description — named authors are not given in the subtitles