Originally published at: Scientists discover that fungi can effectively break down plastic | Boing Boing
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What could possibly go wrong?
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If you read Paul Stamets’ work, fungi could be a part of the solution to a multitude of our current ecological horrors. This is a good place to start:
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The fungi can break down polypropylene [C2H6]n after is is exposed to UV and heat. The breakdown product would be CO2 and water. The C02 would then enter the atmosphere.
Since we also need to reduce atmospheric CO2 the fungi wouldn’t be of help in that regard. The Polypropylene would be better sequestered away in the solid form that it is in now.
Unless the fungi were to be used in a closed system where the CO2 is being immediately reused by growing plants. Maybe on the lunar surface? I dunno.
As mentioned in the article, turn off the plastic tap!
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I’m pretty sure this is the true origin story for Cordyceps
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Thanks for preemptively answering the question I came here to ask: breaks it down into what? There’s no such thing as a free lunch, it seems.
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Well for the fungi its a free lunch!
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If it’s some kind of a closed system, the CO2 could be captured and used as a refrigerant in say, heat pumps; it’s apparently an effective and inexpensive refrigerant.
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See? We’re coming up with solutions already!
But seriously, there are certain unknowns we have yet to innovate, but we have so many solutions already at our disposal that lack the will and funding to make reality. This is one of the few areas where it seems the free market actually will provide solutions as the rulers of the world seem determined to do absolutely nothing.
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Well, whatever the implications for us, we can be happy Aspergillus terreus have a bright future ahead of them. They’re not too bad a mold – not one of the main food spoilers, with mycotoxins not implicated in human illness, and um…only occasionally causing deadly aspergillosis in mostly immunocompromized patients…
How about you, Engyodontium? Opportunistic infections too, including brain abcesses you say? Cool, cool. Funny that fungi good at digesting everything turn out to be health risks sometimes. Well, have fun with the plastic, it’s always nice to know some species benefit from having us around.
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I really loved that they called Stamets after the mycologist and there is a ship mentioned by the named the Stamets in SNW - which presumably was after the mycologist.
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I’ve been saying for years that we have the solutions to all the problems, but what is lacking is the will, political and otherwise, to implement them.
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In a landfill, or wherever most of this plastic might end might have some heat, but is unlikely to have much ultraviolet light to break anything down. So if that’s a requirement I don’t hold out much hope of this doing much.
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As a layman, I’m wondering what kind of damage it might be doing to the fungi aside from the remainder materials? How are we fucking up the future without realizing it?
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I wouldn’t worry about the molds too much. They’re transient opportunists…they grow where and while they can, leaving spores that hopefully find other such chances. Any ill-effects on them just mean something wasn’t that great an opportunity for spore production. But yeah, what exactly they leave behind for other organisms to deal with is a very good question. There has been lots of concern over marine plastic soaking up toxins over time and then releasing them all together once it gets broken down.
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Here’s our chance to design special tiny robots with ultraviolet lights, that will crawl all through the piles of plastic trash! Or breed some fungi that will light their own way… (not sure if I’m kidding or not)
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I used to be a fun guy, but now I’m weighed down by regret. And all this plastic I ate.
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this is cool, but i’m still on Team “let’s just pack all our plastic into rockets and shoot it on a one-way trip to the Sun.”
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The plastic is probably a whole lot safer than rocket propellants.
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