Researchers have identified a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy.
研究人员发现了一种以聚氨酯为食的新细菌，聚氨酯是一种很难回收或 被破坏的塑料。
Scientists say the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard-to-recycle plastics that are ending up in the world's landfills and polluting oceans.
科学家表示，这一发现可能有助于减少大量难以回收的塑料，这些塑料最终被填埋在世界各地，污染海洋。
A team from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, found the new strain of soil bacteria.
德国莱比锡亥姆霍兹环境研究中心的一个小组发现了这种新的土壤细菌。
It was identified in an area that contained a large amount of plastic waste.
这种细菌是在一个有大量塑料垃圾的地区发现的。
The team discovered the bacteria were feeding on polyurethane diol, a substance widely used in many different products.
该小组发现，这些细菌以聚氨酯二醇为食，聚氨酯二醇是一种被广泛应用于许多不同产品中的物质。
The researchers estimated that in 2015, polyurethane made up 3.5 million tons of Europe's plastics.
研究人员估计，2015年， 欧洲350万吨塑料由聚氨酯制成。
One problem is that recycling polyurethane requires a lot of energy.
但问题之一在于，回收聚氨酯需要大量的能量。
The plastic material does not melt when heated.
这种塑料材料加热时不会熔化。
Most polyurethane-based products end up in landfills, where they can release dangerous chemicals.
大多数聚氨酯制成的产品最终会被填埋，在土壤中会释，放出危险的化学物质。
The team found that the bacterium, identified as Pseudomonas putida, can produce enzymes that eat away at polyurethanes.
该小组发现，这种被鉴定为恶臭假单胞菌的细菌能够产生吞噬聚氨酯的酶。
This would make it possible to break down the material in the environment.
这将使在环境中分解这种材料成为可能。
The results were recently reported in a study in the publication Frontiers in Microbiology.
研究结果最近发表在《微生物学前沿》杂志上。
Hermann Heipieper helped write the report.
赫尔曼.海派珀协助撰写了这份报告。
He said in a statement the finding "represents an important step in being able to reuse hard-to-recycle (polyurethane) products."
他在一份声明中表示，这一发现“代表着在再利用难回收(聚氨酯)产品方面迈出了重要的一步。”
The research is part of a European Union program that seeks to find useful microorganisms.
这项研究是欧盟寻找有用微生物计划的一部分。
The goal is to identify living things that can help turn oil-based plastics into substances that can be broken down biologically.
他们的目标是找出能够将油基塑料转化为生物降解物质的生物。
Similar experiments have been carried out in the past.
过去也进行过类似的实验。
In 2011, Yale University students discovered a fungus that could feed on polyurethane plastic even in a place without air, like at the bottom of a landfill.
2011年，耶鲁大学的学生发现了-种真菌，即使在没有空气的地方，比如垃圾填埋场底部，也能以聚氨酯塑料为食。
Since then, scientists around the world have identified other kinds of fungi that can break down polyurethane.
从那时起，世界各地的科学家已经发现了能够分解聚氨酯的其他种类的真菌。
In 2017, a team of scientists identified a fungus that can feed on plastic by breaking down the main chemicals holding it together.
2017年，一个科学家团队发现了一种以塑料为食的真菌，它能分解塑料中的主要化学物质。
The German study noted that plastic-eating bacteria could be easily controlled and produced for industrial use.
德国研究指出，食用塑料的细菌可以很容易地控制和生产，从而被用于工业用途。
The researchers said the next step is to identify more information about the bacterial enzymes that can break down polyurethane.
研究人员说，下一步是确认更多关于能够分解聚氨酯的细菌酶的信息。
Some scientists advise against introducing man-made enzymes or microorganisms into the environment that could be harmful.
一些科学家建议不要将人造酶或微生物引入环境中，否则可能会对环境造成危害。
Scientist Douglas Rader wrote about the issue in a 2018 article for the Environmental Defense Fund.
科学家道格拉斯.雷德在2018年为环境保护基金组织撰写的一篇文章中谈到了这个问题。
He said much more study should be carried out to learn about "the complex relationships between plastics and marine ecosystems.
他说，应该开展更多的研究来了解“塑料和海洋生态系统之间的复杂关系”。
Such research is needed "before we can take drastic action such as" putting plastic-eating bacteria into the ocean, Rader wrote.
在我们采取诸如将食用塑料的细菌引入海洋“这样的极端行动之前”，这些研究是必要的，雷德写道。
The group Plastic Oceans International reports that scientists estimate more than 8 million tons of plastic are thrown into the world's oceans every year.
国际塑料海洋组织报告称，科学家估计每年有超过800万吨的塑料被扔进世界各地的海洋。
An estimated 300 million tons of plastic is produced yearly worldwide.
据估计，全世界每年生产3亿吨塑料。
Plastic Oceans International says about half of that amount is created for one use only.
国际塑料海洋组织表示，其中大约一半为一次性使用制造。
