KUNMING, CHINA/PAKISTAN — A new study published in the journal Environmental Pollution discusses a fungus that breaks down plastic materials.
A group of researchers from the Kunming Institute of Botany in China found aspergillus [h]tubingensis[i], a common soil fungus, at a dump in Pakistan. Under laboratory conditions it was shown to break down plastic in weeks, not years.
The fungus used its roots to break apart the plastic, but its effectiveness was found to be influenced by other factors such as temperature and pH levels.
Aspergillus tubingensis was previously found in patients with lung conditions such as cystic fibrosis, according to a 2016 study in the journal Medical Mycology.
