Plastic Pollution and Climate Change: Role of Bioremediation as a Tool to Achieving Sustainability

Abstract

Pollution from post-consumer plastics is a growing global environmental challenge whose negative impacts are exacerbating climate change. Plastics are stable, durable, and hydrophobic. They possess high molecular weight, complex three-dimensional structure, and are not readily available to be used as substrate by biological agents such as microorganisms and enzymes. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the examples of petrochemical-based plastics. PET is a strong, clear, and light-weight plastic with global usage in the production of bottles. Technological innovation, policy formulation, advocacy and sensitization, change in consumption pattern, and bioremediation are some of the approaches that are currently being used to mitigate environmental pollution from post-consumer PET bottles. The ubiquitous property of microorganisms and their ability to survive in almost every environment, including very extreme ones, make them good candidate for biodegradation. Bioremediation is simply defined as engineered or enhanced biodegradation. This review discusses the potential of bioremediation as sustainable and environment-friendly tool to clean up post-consumer PET bottles that already accumulate on land, in soil, and in water bodies.