Are fungi the solution to global plastic pollution? A research team from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is currently trying to answer this question.
Back in June 2024, a research team from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) and Utrecht University discovered the marine fungus Parengyodontium album, which is native to the ocean. It could partially decompose UV-exposed polyethylene. Even then, the theory emerged that other fungi that can biodegrade plastic could also exist in deeper levels of the ocean.
New findings from the Hawaiian team
They filled petri dishes with polyurethane and observed the speed at which various types of fungi from the ocean were able to utilize the plastic. The most promising cultures were then used for further cultivation, which resulted in an increase in the rate of utilization. According to Ronja Steinbach, student and leader of the research project, more than 60 percent of all fungi samples collected by the team in the ocean had the ability to recycle plastic. She was also amazed that some cultures were able to utilize the plastic up to 15 percent faster within just three months.
Mushrooms as a solution to the plastic problem?
These findings raise hope. However, the sheer quantity and variance of different types of plastic in the ocean make it clear that fungi alone cannot solve the problem in the long term. The most effective way to reduce plastic in the sea is to prevent it from entering the ecosystem in the first place. Mushrooms could be an important building block against global plastic pollution in the future, but they are not a magic bullet.
Solving the problem is much more difficult than preventing it from occurring in the first place.