A University of Waterloo researcher’s ground-breaking research has found a way to alter bacteria so that they consume microplastics.
One of the sources of microplastics is wastewater plants as the plastic particles are not able to be removed in the treatment process. Aaron Yip, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, found a way to alter common bacteria found in wastewater plants to consume polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic found in clothes, carpet, and food containers.
“This is the first time that bacteria from an environmental sample have been engineered to degrade plastics,” Yip said. “Previous research has been focused on engineering well-understood lab organisms like E. coli and yeast to degrade plastics, but my work showed how to engineer more diverse bacteria from environmental samples.”
While the impact of microplastics in natural waterways is not yet completely understood, research has shown the tiny plastic particles in human drinking water can cause cancer, insulin resistance, and antibiotic resistance.
To date, the plastic-eating bacteria has only been proven in controlled lab conditions. However, Yip sees possibilities to clean up microplastics in wastewater plants. He emphasized that though this is still a long way off, it might one day be use in waterways for microplastic removal. The Great Lakes are heavily contaminated with microplastics with 90% of samples containing levels that are not safe for fish and aquatic wildlife.
“Open release into bodies of water like the Great Lakes or the oceans is more challenging as there are limited engineering controls available for the environmental conditions,” Yip said. “We would need to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the technology in controlled field trials before considering open release into the environment.”
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