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After 72 hours in the dark, bacterial activity was measured in each of the bottles. A small amount of the 'plastic water' was added to half of these, to represent the amount of carbon leached from plastics into the environment, and the same amount of distilled water was added to the others. The scientists cut up plastic bags from four major UK shopping chains, and shook these in water until their carbon compounds were released.Īt each lake, glass bottles were filled with lake water. To assess a range of conditions, these lakes differed in latitude, depth, area, average surface temperature and diversity of dissolved carbon-based molecules.
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The study involved sampling 29 lakes across Scandinavia between August and September 2019. On the positive side, our study helps to identify microbes that could be harnessed to help break down plastic waste and better manage environmental pollution," said Professor David Aldridge in the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology, who was involved in the study. "Unfortunately, plastics will pollute our environment for decades. If a lake has a lot of plastic pollution, but low bacterial diversity and a lot of different natural organic compounds, then its ecosystem will be more vulnerable to damage. The results will help to prioritise lakes where pollution control is most urgent. This is because the bacteria in the lake water had fewer other food sources. The new study also found that bacteria removed more plastic pollution in lakes that had fewer unique natural carbon compounds.
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The carbon compounds from plastics were shown to be derived from additives unique to plastic products, including adhesives and softeners. The researchers found that these are chemically distinct to the carbon compounds released as organic matter like leaves and twigs break down. When plastics break down they release simple carbon compounds. The effect varied depending on the diversity of bacterial species present in the lake water - lakes with more different species were better at breaking down plastic pollution.Ī study published by the authors last year found that European lakes are potential hotspots of microplastic pollution. He added: "This suggests that plastic pollution is stimulating the whole food web in lakes, because more bacteria means more food for the bigger organisms like ducks and fish." The bacteria use the plastic as food first, because it's easy to break down, and then they're more able to break down some of the more difficult food - the natural organic matter in the lake," said Dr Andrew Tanentzap in the University of Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences, senior author of the paper. "It's almost like the plastic pollution is getting the bacteria's appetite going. The findings are published today in the journal Nature Communications. Some of the compounds within plastics can have toxic effects on the environment, particularly at high concentrations. The scientists caution that this does not condone ongoing plastic pollution.