◎魏國金
Scientists in Japan have discovered a strain of bacteria that can eat plastic, a finding that might help solve the world’s fast-growing plastic pollution problem.
日本科學家發現吃塑膠的細菌株，這項發現或許有助於解決世界快速擴大的塑膠污染問題。
The species fully breaks down one of the most common kinds of plastic called Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It’s the type often used to package bottled drinks, cosmetics and household cleaners.
該種細菌可完全分解稱為「聚對苯二甲酸乙二醇酯」（PET）的一種最普遍的塑膠。該類塑膠通常用於包裝瓶裝飲料、化妝品與家庭清潔劑。
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Styrofoam-eating mealworms might help reduce plastic waste, study finds.
食用聚苯乙烯泡沫塑料的麵包蟲，或許有助於減少塑膠廢棄物，研究發現。
The findings, published in the academic journal ’Science’ on Friday, say that "Ideonella sakaiensis breaks down the plastic by using two enzymes to hydrolyze PET and a primary reaction intermediate, eventually yielding for growth."
這份週五刊登在學術期刊「科學」的研究成果指出，稱為Ideonella sakaiensis的細菌，利用兩種酵素水解PET，以及一種初級反應中間體來分解塑膠，最後產生成長所需的物質。
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This could be really good news for the environment. Almost a third of all plastic packaging escapes collection systems and ends up in nature or clogging up infrastructure, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned.
這對環境來說可能真是好消息。近3分之1的塑膠包裝從收集系統中流出，最後落於自然界或塞滿基礎設施，「世界經濟論壇」（WEF）警告。
The WEF report, based on analysis of 20 studies and interviews with 180 experts, also said only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling and that there will be more plastic than fish calculated by weight in the world’s oceans by 2050.
這份以分析20份研究及訪談180名專家為基礎而完成的WEF報告也指出，只有14％的塑膠包裝被回收再利用；若以重量計算，到了2050年，全球海洋裡的塑膠將比魚多。