====== Environmental plastic degradation ======

Of the (estimated) 300 - 400 million tonnes of plastic produced worldwide every year, only around 20% is currently recycled or incinerated. Much of the remaining 80% eventually ends up in the environment.

In the environment, plastics are degraded by weathering, UV light, abrasion, and mechanical action etc -  but they are also degraded by microbes (e.g. //Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes//, and //Firmicutes//) and by fungi.

Biodegradation of plastics has now been observed in polythene [PE], polypropylene [PP] , polystyrene [PS] , PVC and polyamides [PA] (e.g Nylon). The specific enzymes produced by the organisms, and which are responsible for the degradation, are for the most part unknown.

>Although an increasing number of microorganisms have been isolated and identified recently, the responsible enzymes or associated degradation pathways are rarely identified for many types of synthetic polymers.
>\\ Source : [[https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/3/503/pdf|Materials, 14, 3]] {{:oa_padlock_grn.png?16&nolink|Open Access}}

//Note : //Although many research groups are currently investigating the possible uses of micro-organisms to potentially remove plastics and microplastics from the environment, the possible harmful effects of the degradation products are also largely unknown.

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Also see : [[content:medicine:diseases:m-q:microplastics]] and [[content/earth_sciences/microplastic_pollution]] 

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