Ocean Conservation & Tidalpunk

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The plastic-digesting capabilities of the fungus Parengyodontium album could be harnessed to degrade polyethylene, the most abundant type of plastic in the ocean

A fungus found on litter floating in the North Pacific Ocean can break down the most abundant type of plastic that ends up in the sea.

Vaksmaa believes that the fungus, known as Parengyodontium album, has great potential, but she is cautious about putting it to use in the wild. “If we take a microbe and add it to a natural system, then we may ruin it while trying to do good,” she says. Instead, she suggests it may be best to gather the plastic first and bring it back to land to be digested by P. album that has been grown in bulk. This could be achieved using well-established techniques, similar to those used in the brewing industry, she says.