Chiu, A. (2023, November 16). One Solution to the Plastic Crisis may lie in Bugs’ Bellies https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/11/17/plastic-eating-bugs-recycling-pollution/ 

New research has shown that bacteria and fungi might be a new way to solve the problem of microplastics in the environment. Because bacteria are continuously surrounded by growing amounts of microplastics, some microorganisms are now able to eat plastics. Research has shown that some organisms can now live off of different plastic products. Many of these organisms will be able to break down these plastics into biomass, which could then be used to make new products. However, these microorganisms can be picky about what type of plastics they eat, which might force recycling centers to organize the plastics that they get. Additionally, these organisms can be very slow at breaking down the plastic. 

I find this to be one of the most interesting options for dealing with the plastic issue in the world. While the main way to reduce the impact of plastic on the environment is to reduce and stop the production of plastic, this might be a more natural way they get rid of and recycle plastic particles. However, this is very new research and from what they have already found, it can be challenging for these microorganisms to break down a lot of plastics. And even when they are broken down, they still have waste that needs to be used or disposed of in some way. It is a very exciting idea, especially with the amount of microplastics that are everywhere and how difficult plastics can be to get rid of, but it is also so new, that we need other ways and reduce of the amount of plastic we produce.