What plastic eating organisms are there to help with plastic in landfills problem?

Question

I see some popular science articles on the plastic eating bacteria and fungi appearing on the web since 2009. Most of the articles praise discoveries, because such organisms promise to break down plastics which were previously thought to be indestructible. However, from the articles it is hard to understand the total number/names of promising organisms that can biodegrade plastic. Additionally, it's hard to gather from the dated articles if these plastic eating organisms have passed safety testing - for example that they don't break down plastic into something volatile and toxic.My question is - **which organisms as of 2013 are seriously considered for solving the plastic in landfills problem?**

Answer 1

Yes, there is a large use of plastic waste that is dumped in land fills and these are building up daily. Given this situation that we face, finding a bacteria that can digest plastic is very relevant to dealing with plastic waste.

There is a bacterium called Ideonella sakaiensis is a bacterium capable of breaking down and consuming plastic as a sole carbon and energy source.

Aspergillus tubingensis is a fungus that also can digest plastic waste and decompose them and found in soil.