The fungus and bacteria tackling plastic waste
Samantha Jenkins was studying a number of types of fungus in a research project for her company, when one of the fungi made a bid for freedom.
"Imagine a jar full of grain with a kind of lump of mushroom coming out of the top," says the lead biotech engineer for bio-manufacturing firm Biohm.
"It didn't look particularly exciting or fascinating. But as soon as it was cracked open, it was very, very cool."
The fungus had eaten its way through the plastic sponge intended to seal it in, breaking it down and assimilating it like any other food.
The aim of the project was to evaluate a number of strains of fungus for use in bio-based insulation panels, but the hungry fungus has taken them in another direction.
Biohm is now working to develop the strain to make it an even more efficient digester that could potentially help get rid of plastic waste.
It's no secret that single-use plastic waste is a vast problem: by 2015, according to Greenpeace, the world had churned out 6.3 billion tonnes of virgin plastic, of which only 9% has been recycled. The rest was burned in incinerators or dumped.
