Plastic-eating bacteria discovered by student could help solve global pollution crisis

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A student may have found a solution to one of the world’s most urgent environmental crises – breeding bacteria capable of “eating” plastic and potentially breaking it down into harmless by-products. open image in gallery Image reveals colonies of bacteria growing on a strip of PET plastic “It looks like it breaks it down into harmless by-products that don’t do any environmental damage, so right now what it’s doing is breaking down the hydrocarbons within the plastic, and then the bacteria is able to use that as food and fuel,” she said. “This is not going to be the total solution, but I think it’s going to be part of the solution.” open image in gallery Morgan Vague holds up a test tube teeming with plastic-eating bacteria Professor John McGeehan, a biologist at the University of Plymouth, who has done research into plastic-degrading enzymes, warned Ms Vague’s research was in its early stages and more testing was needed. “It’s simply that it’s early days experiments.” Earlier this year, Mr McGeehan and colleagues accidentally created a super-powered version of a plastic-eating enzyme, dubbed PETase for its ability to break down PET plastic.