TG Daily reports on a new hope for clearing up our old landfills – by feeding the plastic to a very special rain-forest mushroom:
Pestalotiopsis microspora, found in the jungles of Ecuador, can digest polyurethane – which often currently ends up in landfill and takes generations to decay.
Burning polyurethane releases toxins as well as carbon dioxide; and, while it can be recycled, it frequently isn’t.
The fungus can live entirely on polyurethane. And, most intriguingly, the fungus can break down polyeurethane even without the presence of oxygen, meaning it could do its trick even at the bottom of a landfill site.
The fungus was discovered on [Yale’s] annual Rainforest Expedition last year. It’s one of several that the team found could break down polyeurethane, but was the only one to manage this without oxygen.