Can bacteria digest our plastic litter ?

We know that plastic products are generally very useful, but the drawback is the long time needed to destroy them: maybe some 450 years for a bottle. Scientists world-wide are working to find a solution and in the University of Hamburg, Germany, they are experimenting with the use of bacteria that can destroy the plastic 300 times faster.

Professor Wolfgang Streit explains some of the early research:

https://www.uni-hamburg.de/en/newsroom/forschung/2018/0829-mikroplastik.html

Science Magazine provides an understandable overview of recent advances in this promising, if distant, potential solution:

https://www.science.org/content/article/could-plastic-eating-microbes-take-bite-out-recycling-problem