Each year, the world produces more than 300 million tons of plastic waste, which can take a longtime to breakdown. Almost a third of the world’s plastic waste is polypropylene, a hard plastic used to make bottle: caps and food containers that typically take hundreds of years to degrade.
Now, a group of scientists at the University of Sydney, in Australia have developed a solution: using fungi (真菌) found in soils to devour lab samples of polypropylene.
In the experiment, the scientists first weakened pieces of polypropylene plastic by exposing them to heat, chemicals, or ultraviolet (UV) light so the fungi can do their job quickly. Fungi degrade materials like plastic into simpler molecules that they can then get rid of. The usually smooth plastic become full of marks as the fungi carryout their dirty work.
The two fungi, Aspergillus terreus and Engyodontium album, made a meal of the plastic in the lab experiments. As the researchers reported, between 25 and 27 percent of samples were digested after 90 days, and the plastic was completely broken down after 140 days.
More than 400 microorganisms have so far been found to degrade plastic naturally, with fungi attracting a fair bit of attention for their ability to degrade all sorts of man-made materials. “Recent studies suggest some fungi may even degrade some of the ‘forever chemicals’ like PFAS, but the process is slow and not yet well understood,” explains microbiologist Dee Carter of the University of Sydney.
Currently, the team is testing ways to speed up the degradation process, and assessing the economic and environmental factors of potential commercial use. If the team can transform their laboratory solution into a commercial-scale plastic waste management system, the world will finally have a promising solution to one of our most pressing environmental issues.
【小题1】What does the underlined word “devour” probably mean in paragraph 2?| A．Produce. | B．Consume. | C．Analyse. | D．Recycle. |
| A．To leave marks on the sample. |
| B．To reduce plastic waste globally. |
| C．To change the shape of the plastic. |
| D．To quicken the degradation process. |
| A．Putting the solution into commercial use. |
| B．Establishing a system for rubbish sorting. |
| C．Maintaining a steady speed in the process. |
| D．Tackling the issue of pollution completely. |
| A．Scientists cutting down on waste |
| B．A solution used on a large scale |
| C．Plastic-eating fungi doing the trick |
| D．Severe plastic pollution reduced |
