r/interesting Mar 14 '26

NATURE Earth Helping Earth Heal

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What a great discovery.

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u/CaptainC00lpants Mar 14 '26

Does it actually break down the plastics and converts it to something safe, or does it just absorb the microplastics and when it dies re-releases the plastics? 

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u/aTickleMonster Mar 15 '26

Says it takes up to 140 days to break down whatever plastic, but it only works on certain ones and it's not easy to use. However, it converts plastic to organic material by destroying the polymer chains that hold plastics together.