What harmful microbes are lurking in the world's 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste?

Changchao Li; Jian Liu; Matthias C. Rillig; Michael S. Bank; Peter Fantke; Dong Zhu; Yong-Guan Zhu; Ling N. Jin

doi:10.1038/d41586-024-03150-6

What harmful microbes are lurking in the world's 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste?

Changchao Li
, Jian Liu
, Matthias C. Rillig
, Michael S. Bank
, Peter Fantke
, Dong Zhu
, Yong-Guan Zhu
, Ling N. Jin^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › Comment/debate

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

What lurks in plastic debris?

Pathogenic viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria thrive on plastic. The biohazard risks of this 'plastisphere' shouldn't be overlooked in efforts to tackle the pollution crisis.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	30-32
Journal	Nature
Volume	634
Issue number	8032
Online published	1 Oct 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-03150-6
Publication status	Published - 3 Oct 2024

Research Keywords

Policy
Industry
Scientific community
Environmental sciences

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Cite this

@article{1444a7ae998747f58d965b7f7eab9caf,

title = "What harmful microbes are lurking in the world's 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste?",

abstract = "What lurks in plastic debris? Pathogenic viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria thrive on plastic. The biohazard risks of this 'plastisphere' shouldn't be overlooked in efforts to tackle the pollution crisis.",

keywords = "Policy, Industry, Scientific community, Environmental sciences",

author = "Changchao Li and Jian Liu and Rillig, \{Matthias C.\} and Bank, \{Michael S.\} and Peter Fantke and Dong Zhu and Yong-Guan Zhu and Jin, \{Ling N.\}",

year = "2024",

month = oct,

day = "3",

doi = "10.1038/d41586-024-03150-6",

language = "English",

volume = "634",

pages = "30--32",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",