Biotechnological tools for the effective management of plastics in the environment

Abstract

Plastics are an inescapable reality of modern society. Found in all sectors and activities, they have brought unquestionable societal benefits. However, their most desirable characteristics – durability, flexibility, resistance to degradation and low cost – also render these materials highly problematic from an environmental perspective. The exponential increase in their production has led to their subsequent accumulation in the environment, particularly in Oceans, and current conventional treatments of plastic waste are of very limited efficiency. Herein, we overview these existing solutions and contrast them with alternative strategies for the treatment of plastic waste, whether such approaches are based on the production of new, eco-friendlier products, or based on the biodegradation of these materials increasingly present in the environment. It is also discussed how biotechnology-based approaches can play a pivotal role in enhancing biodegradation strategies and how these can be integrated in a circular economy model, effectively leading from waste to wealth.

Keywords:

• plastics
• pollution
• biotechnology
• bioremediation

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by national funds through FCT/MEC (PIDDAC), [IF/00407/2013/CP1162/CT00239]. Thanks are also due, for the financial support to CESAM [UID/AMB/50017], to FCT/MEC through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020 [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028740]. This work was also funded by Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) through two post-doctoral fellowships [SFRH/BPD/122538/2016 and SFRH/BPD/102452/2014], under POCH funds, co-financed by the European Social Fund and Portuguese National Funds from MEC. Lastly, the authors wish to thank European Commission’s H2020 Framework Program under JERICO-NEXT project.