UW researchers using engineered bacteria to breakdown harmful microplastics in wastewater

Researchers at the University of Waterloo are using genetically-modified bacteria to breakdown harmful microplastics in wastewater.

Lead researcher, Aaron Yip, started the work in 2022, hoping to find innovative ways to remove plastic pollution from the environment.

“Without of any interventions, plastics would likely last over 100 years,” he said.

The team used wastewater samples from the Region of Waterloo to develop the genetically-modified bacteria.

A sample of wastewater being taken in this undated file photo.

“We took a bunch of different parts, different genetic parts you can call them, and we assembled them together and then essentially put that complete set of instructions into our lab strain of bacteria,” Yip explained. “These are just like our friendly lab bacteria, and then we use that lab bacteria to deliver a set of instructions into the wild bacteria.”

The team’s modified bacteria could help with microplastic decomposition before they even enter the environment.

Microplastics come from a variety of sources.

“Typically, from things like synthetic clothing for example, those are some of the main contributors to microplastics in wastewater,” Yip said.

The team’s focus was polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is commonly found in food and drink containers.

“We used in our project the container that would hold oregano, and we saw that by putting that container in proximity to these bacteria, you’d get full degradation of that plastic,” explained chemical engineering professor Marc Aucoin.

Chemicals found in plastics are associated with insulin resistance, cancer and decreased reproductive health.

“There are health impacts with consuming these microplastics that end up in organisms that get eaten up by fish, that get eaten by us, that we drink through our water,” said Aucoin. “To eliminate any of those health effects, we want to get rid of those microplastics.”

Researchers are still assessing the risks of using a modified bacteria in a natural environment, before the team takes their work beyond the walls of the Waterloo lab.