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Long-term immersion of compostable plastics in marine aquarium: Microbial biofilm evolution and polymer degradation
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Researchers immersed compostable plastics PLA and PBAT in a marine aquarium for up to 260 days and found that despite their biodegradable designation, degradation in marine conditions remains extremely slow, while microbial communities colonizing the plastics shifted over time with a notably high proportion of Archaea and distinct plastisphere structures for each polymer type.
The best-selling compostable plastics, polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), can accidentally end up in the marine environment due to plastic waste mismanagement. Their degradation and colonization by microbial communities are poorly documented in marine conditions. To better understand their degradation, as well as the dynamics of bacterial colonization after a long immersion time (99, 160, and 260 days), PBAT, semicrystalline, and amorphous PLA films were immersed in a marine aquarium. Sequencing and chemical analyses were used in parallel to characterize these samples. Despite the variation in the chemical intrinsic parameters of these plastics, their degradation remains very slow. Microbial community structure varied according to the immersion time with a high proportion of Archaea. Moreover, the plastisphere structure of PBAT was specific. A better understanding of compostable plastic degradability is crucial to evaluate their impact on ecosystems and to eco-design new recyclable plastics with optimal degradation properties.
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Microbial biofilm composition and polymer degradation of compostable and non-compostable plastics immersed in the marine environment
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Researchers submerged compostable (PBAT, PLA) and conventional plastics in the Mediterranean Sea for 82 days and found no significant bacterial degradation of any polymer, though enrichment cultures specifically grew Marinomonas bacteria on PBAT with a 12% weight loss, suggesting marine biodegradation of compostable plastics is far slower than in industrial composting conditions.
Bacterial Abundance, Diversity and Activity During Long-Term Colonization of Non-biodegradable and Biodegradable Plastics in Seawater
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Biofilm communities on conventional (polyethylene and polystyrene) and biodegradable plastics were tracked over 7 months of seawater immersion, finding highly abundant and diverse plastisphere communities on all polymer types but limited evidence of active plastic biodegradation under natural marine conditions.
Early biofilm colonization on traditional and biodegradable plastics in the Baltic Sea using a mesocosm approach
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This study compares how microbial communities colonize and form biofilms on conventional plastics versus biodegradable alternatives when submerged in marine environments. Researchers found differences in the composition and development speed of biofilms depending on the plastic substrate type. These findings have implications for understanding how plastic material choice affects microbial ecology and the broader marine environment.
Bioplastic biodegradability shapes microbial communities in a coastal brackish environment
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Researchers conducted multi-season field and lab experiments in the Baltic Sea to test biodegradation of six bioplastics, finding that cellulose acetate, polybutylene succinate, and polyhydroxybutyrate developed distinct microbial communities capable of degrading multiple bioplastic types, while coining the term "bioplastisphere" for these unique plastic-associated microbial ecosystems.
Freshwater plastisphere structure and succession on diverse polymer surfaces: Linking plastisphere ecology and surface alterations in a 210-day field experiment
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Researchers conducted a 210-day in situ lake experiment comparing plastisphere development on biodegradable polymers (PLA, PHBV, PBAT) and conventional polypropylene, finding that microbial succession followed predictable ecological dynamics largely independent of polymer chemistry, with antimicrobial resistance genes appearing at low abundances comparable to surrounding water.
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