Plastic-Eating Mushroom Discovered in the Amazon Rainforest — A Solution for Our Trash Saturated World?

Pestalotiopsis; Fred Brooks, University of Hawaii at Manoa CC-BY 3.0

By Carolanne Wright
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

In a world addicted to plastic, it’s hard to imagine life without it. The problem is, plastic doesn’t breakdown safely and has proven itself to be exceedingly toxic for the planet and its inhabitants. We’re drowning in the stuff and it doesn’t look like our reliance on the material will end anytime in the near future. Radical solutions are needed — and soon. Recently, a team of students discovered what very well may be part of the answer: a plastic-eating fungus.

Choking to Death on a Modern ‘Wonder’ Material

Plastic is a relatively new material, developed in the last seventy years or so. As I wrote previously in “Plastic is Killing the Planet and Our Health — Here’s How We Can Turn the Tide,” the widespread use of the material is directly linked to the military needs of the United States: