Enter Enterobacter to delete plastic pollution

 By Julia Amerith Flores 

Selvakumar Santhosh, Jayaraman Narenkumar, Kayeen Vadakkan, Nandini MS, Aruliah Rajasekar, Rajaram Rajamohan. 2025. Enterobacter hormaechei mediated biodegradation of PET: a sustainable approach to plastic waste. Biodegradation. 36(5).https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-025-10183-9 

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Figure (1) shows how untreated PET (a) looks vs the crystalline changes that happen after it was treated with the bacteria (b) from 

Selvakumar Santhosh, Jayaraman Narenkumar, Kayeen Vadakkan, Nandini MS, Aruliah Rajasekar, Rajaram Rajamohan. 2025. Enterobacter hormaechei mediated biodegradation of PET: a sustainable approach to plastic waste. Biodegradation. 36(5).https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-025-10183-9 

Plastic pollution is notoriously hard to get rid of within the environment. Enter Enterbacter hormaechei, who has the ability to biodegrade or breakdown a type of plastic known as PET (polymer polyethylene terephthalate). Bacteria, like all living things, need a carbon source to have energy. E. hormaechei is able to use the plastic to do so by excreting an enzyme that breaks down the hydrogen bonds within the plastic. The bacteria is able to create biofilms on the plastic, which means that they are able to grow on the plastic without needing an alternate source for energy. This gradually breaks up the edges of the plastic and even suggests that the bacteria make the plastic brittle and more prone to further degradation. The bacteria break down the plastic by modifying the molecular structure, specifically by using it as a carbon source. This was observed through several different ways; spectroscopy, particle size analysis, and X-ray. These techniques tell through various ways if the plastic has been affected; rearrangements in the atomic structure, bonds breaking or forming in the chemical structure, and if it changes sizes. This is important because plastic is a serious pollutant. It takes a very long time to break down naturally and most of the time, negatively affects the ecosystems it pollutes. Perhaps, E. hormaechei may help remedy the issues that plastic pollution presents.