AIMAN INAM

ISLAMABAD: The increasing plastic wastage has led some nine Pakistani and Chinese investigators to discover novel and secure means to degrade it.

In the research labeled Biodegradation of Polyester Polyurethane by Aspergillus tubingensis, academics from Isloo have claimed to find out a fungus that survives on plastic in trashes.

According to their findings, the fungus called Aspergillus Tubingensis can collapse non-biodegradable plastic within weeks by squirting enzymes that disintegrate individual molecules.

Harboring on the subject, the study senior scholar from the World Agroforestry Centre/Kunming Institute of Biology, Dr. Sehroon Khan noted that the panel of academics had been searching for techniques to degrade plastic waste that are already presented in nature.

Hence, they took samples from a rubbish dump in Islamabad to observe if anything was consuming on the plastic in the similar approach that other organisms swallow dead plant or animal matter.

They then tried out the fungus in liquid, soil and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) plate. Their ramifications revealed that the fungus decomposed plastic in all mediums; however, bio-degradation was uppermost when it was cultured on an SDA plate.

World Economic Forum says that the fungus exists in soil. Nevertheless, researchers are of the view that it can also live on plastic facades.

It is pertinent to mention here that plastic can take decades to decompose on its own, which is considered hazardous for the milieu as well as human health as it carries carcinogens and other noxious contaminants.

Whereas, now scientists have successfully discovered the fungus, a safe and sound approach to this menace. Now, they can use the fungus in waste handling plants to care for plastic particles that have contaminated water supplies including soil.

P.S. It is worth mentioning here that a 2016 research, conducted on the dumping of plastic waste in seas, held that approx 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the ocean per annum. If the situation remains persistent, it will affect the marine life non-constructively, resulting into wiping out innumerable species of fish and other marine creatures by 2050.