Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Can microorganisms break down plastics?

 

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true we needn’t worry about plastic pollution because nature will evolve microorganisms to break it all down? — C. Davis, Sacramento, Calif.

Humans have long aimed to maximize efficiency and convenience in everyday life. Plastic has fueled the growth of today’s post-industrial world: From food preservation and textile production to construction and machinery, plastic has made elements of everyday life more convenient. Consequently, the planet is inundated with plastics like Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Around the world over 70 million tons of PET plastic is manufactured, and only 19% of it is recycled. The World Economic Forum estimates the planet is on track to have as much plastic by weight as fish in the ocean by 2050. Scientists and environmental advocates are keen to solve global plastic pollution.

In 2016 Japanese scientists at the Kyoto Institute of Tokyo took samples outside of a recycling facility in Osaka and made a revolutionary discovery: microorganisms capable of breaking down PET plastic. They use enzymes that allow degradation of plastics into component pieces in only six weeks, compared to the 450 years it takes for plastic to break down on its own.

This discovery questioned how people can harness and utilize these microorganisms, as the naturally-occurring microorganisms broke down plastic at a rate far too slow to be efficient for practical use. In response, scientists created a “super enzyme” — a mutant of the naturally-occurring organisms — capable of speeding the rate of plastic degradation so that 90% of a sample can be broken down in 10 hours.

Plastic-eating microorganisms are an amazing example of the resilience and adaptability of our planet. However, they are unlikely to be our saving grace to rid the Earth of the plastic pollution scourge.

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for EarthTalk at www.emagazine.com; send questions to question@earthtalk.org.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Authorities end search for missing former Dover Town Supervisor

Authorities end search for missing former Dover Town Supervisor

Ryan Courtien disappeared from his Waldo Road home in Wingdale on Sunday morning, July 12. Authorities concluded the search of the landscape surrounding his home after four days of scouring the woods at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 15.

Photo by Lucia Iandolo

DOVER PLAINS — The search for former Dover Town Supervisor Ryan Courtien has concluded after four days of scouring the area surrounding his Wingdale home, but authorities say the investigation is ongoing.

New York State Police announced the end of the search for the 49-year-old Wingdale resident and current Dover Planning Board chair at roughly 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 15. Courtien disappeared from the yard in front of his Waldo Road home in Wingdale shortly after leaving the house at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, July 12, to work in his yard.

Keep ReadingShow less
police

Millerton dressmaker forged path as early businesswoman

Millerton dressmaker forged path as early businesswoman
Mary Kisselbrack, left, and her husband, George.
Provided

If you’ve driven down Main Street in Millerton, you’ve passed the former home and shop of one of the village’s earliest female entrepreneurs. At a time when most businesses were owned by men, Mary Kisselbrack made a name for herself in the late 1800s as a well-respected milliner and dressmaker.

On April 11, 1891, train conductor George Kisselbrack purchased a 124-by-232-foot vacant lot at 54 Main St. and hired locally renowned builders Beers and Trafford to design what would become their home and Mary’s business.

Keep ReadingShow less
millerton celebrates 175 years

Wastewater project coming to fruition after decades of debate

Wastewater project coming to fruition after decades of debate

Millerton’s business community will soon see the completion of a public wastewater system, addressing what local officials and business owners have called a major constraint on commercial development in the community for decades.

The $13.8 million project, which is expected to serve the core of the Village of Millerton and a commercial stretch of the Town of North East along U.S. Route 44, represents one of the largest infrastructure investments in the community in decades, and brings an end to calls for a sewer system that stretch back to World War II. Officials say the system will safeguard local waterways while creating a foundation for long-term economic stability.

Keep ReadingShow less
millerton celebrates 175 years
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Millerton Moviehouse marks 120 years with structural upgrades

Millerton Moviehouse marks 120 years with structural upgrades

Wooden beams made from tree trunks comprise the load-bearing structure under Millerton’s Moviehouse.

Graham Corrigan

There are a handful of buildings that have stood the test of time over Millerton’s 175-year history. But if there’s one that stands out as a singular representation of the town, it’s the Millerton Moviehouse and its iconic clock tower.

Built in 1903 as a grange hall, it was soon converted into a movie theater with a second-floor ballroom. It was one of a handful of buildings that came to define the town in the following decades, standing tall across the street from the Episcopal Church and Millerton Inn, next to Terni’s, and up the hill from Millerton’s train station.

Keep ReadingShow less
millerton celebrates 175 years

Irondale Schoolhouse: a piece of living history

Irondale Schoolhouse: a piece of living history

Ralph Fedele sits at a desk in the historic Irondale Schoolhouse, which he led the effort to relocate to downtown Millerton.

Aly Morrissey
“It was in dire straits. Right on the road, but beautiful. I remember thinking, ‘Wouldn’t that be a great building to move into the village?’” —Ralph Fedele

A one-room schoolhouse sits on Main Street along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, offering an opportunity for locals and visitors to step inside a piece of living history.

The Irondale Schoolhouse that now sits in downtown Millerton was not originally located on Main Street. The building was first constructed in 1858 along what is now Route 22 in the Irondale section of town, defined by Irondale road and the Old Mill that still sits along Webatuck Creek. At the time, the schoolhouse was one of 14 that served the Town of North East’s children.

Keep ReadingShow less
millerton celebrates 175 years

New Water Department building expected by summer’s end

New Water Department building expected by summer’s end

Millerton’s former Water Department building, ravaged by fire, as it awaited demolition in summer 2025.

Aly Morrissey

Nearly 18 months after a fire destroyed Millerton’s Public Works building, which housed the Highway Department and Water Department, construction is expected to begin within weeks on a new Water Department facility and pumphouse.

The new building would restore the village’s full water pumping capacity and allow officials to end the state of emergency declared after the fire. Village officials are also planning a separate Highway garage, with details of that project still being finalized.

Keep ReadingShow less
millerton celebrates 175 years
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.