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Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds

Surprising discovery shows scale of plastic pollution and reveals enzymes that could boost recycling

The increasing amount of plastic being added to our environments has created intense selection pressure for microbes that can break down plastic for energy.

Looking at environmental DNA samples, researchers have found 30,000 different enzymes capable of digesting different types of plastic. Almost 60% did not fit into any known enzyme types.

While previous plastic-eating microbes had primarily been found in garbage dumps or recycling plants (locations with very high levels of plastic), the enzymes in this study were collected from soil and ocean water throughout the world, meaning this phenomenon is even more widespread than we thought.

The goal is to utilize these enzymes for more efficient recycling–essentially breaking plastic down into its basic building blocks to reduce or even eliminate the need for new virgin plastic. An enzyme created in 2020 is already being used to recycle plastic bottles in only a couple of hours.

Thanks to the anonymous individual who sent this in!

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine - Chile (by Claudio Sepúlveda Geoffroy)

photo by ©mustafakılınç

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National Park Laguna del Laja, Antuco, Chile.

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Dutch electric trains become 100% powered by wind energy

The national railway company, NS, said that its renewables target had been met a year earlier than planned

All Dutch electric trains are now powered by wind energy, the national railway company NS has said .

“Since 1 January, 100% of our trains are running on wind energy,” said NS spokesman, Ton Boon.

Dutch electricity company Eneco won a tender offered by NS two years ago and the two companies signed a 10-year deal setting January 2018 as the date by which all NS trains should run on wind energy.

“So we in fact reached our goal a year earlier than planned,” said Boon, adding that an increase in the number of wind farms across the country and off the coast of the Netherlands had helped NS achieve its aim.

Eneco and NS said on a joint website that around 600,000 passengers daily are “the first in the world” to travel thanks to wind energy. NS operates about 5,500 train trips a day.

One windmill running for an hour can power a train for 120 miles, the companies said. They hope to reduce the energy used per passenger by a further 35% by 2020 compared with 2005.