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How marine organisms degrade plastic bags
Context: They add to spread of microplastics
A single plastic grocery bag could be shredded by marine organisms into over one million microscopic fragments, a study has found
Amphipod: Orchestiagammarellus
Marine scientists at the University of Plymouth examined the rate at which bags were broken down by the amphipod Orchestiagammarellus, which inhabits coastal areas in northern and western Europe
Main aim
Their main aim was to discover whether different types of plastic and the presence of a biofilm — a layer of organic material which accumulates over time — altered the rate at which such organisms broke down plastic debris
Four times as quickly
Through monitoring in the laboratory and on the shoreline, researchers demonstrated the bags were torn and stretched by Orchestiagammarellus, with microplastics subsequently being found in and around their faecal matter
Presence of biofilm enhanced the shredding
The type of plastic — conventional, degradable and biodegradable — had no effect on the rate of ingestion, however the presence of a biofilm meant the shredding took place around four times as quickly.
