Their work, however, needs to be supported by other initiatives, such as removing as much plastic as possible, especially the single-use variety. Reuters reports that the analysis that took place in north-eastern Germany demonstrates that some fungi have the ability to accelerate the decomposing of plastic waste without another carbon source.

Hans-Peter Grossart, head of the research group at the Leibniz Institute of freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, said that "the most surprising finding of our work ... is that our fungi could exclusively grow on some of the synthetic polymers and even form biomass."

He believes that these beneficial bacteria could be used in places such as sewage treatment plants and similar facilities, which sport controlled environments. But he added that "we should definitely try to release as little plastic as possible into the environment. Plastic is made from fossil carbon and if the mushrooms break it down, it's no different to us burning oil or gas and releasing CO2 into the atmosphere."

The researchers tested 18 types of fungi in total and discovered that four of them have a particular appetite for plastics, especially for polyurethane, one of the more common types of plastic.

Polyethylene, used in things such as plastic bags and packaging, as well as tire microplastics, were the most difficult for the bacteria to feed off, given they contain special chemicals and even heavy metals.

Data from Plastics Europe collected throughout 2021 shows that we produce around 390 million tons of plastic every year and the amount could increase, given the accelerated production globally.