Key points: Sydney scientists have found two types of fungi can break down plastic.
Sydney scientists have found two types of fungi can break down plastic It's hoped the technology could be scaled up to degrade thousands of tonnes each year.
It took 90 days for the fungi to degrade 27 per cent of the plastic tested, and about 140 days to completely break it down, after the samples were exposed to ultraviolet rays or heat.
The challenge for researchers will be expanding any possible solution to address the nation's mounting piles of soft plastic.
The collapse of the national REDcycle scheme last year exposed big problems with Australia's plastic recycling systems and left most Australians without a way to recycle soft plastic.
The fungi, usually found in plants and soil, took 90 days to degrade 27 per cent of the plastic tested.
Loading... That should also be a consideration for scientists in the fungi experiment, according to Colin Jackson from the Australian National University. »
