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AlterNet reports
Thanks to a group of [students from Yale's Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry] who discovered a new type of fungus in the Ecuadorian rainforest, a semi-solution may soon be available to help speed up the decomposition process of plastics sitting in landfills.
[...]The fungus is the first one that is known to survive on polyurethane alone, and it can do so in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment, suggesting it could be used at the bottom of landfills.
[...]A large reason plastics like polyurethane take so long to break down is that microorganisms don't typically recognize it as food, therefore it can take centuries for man-made polymers to break down into microscopic granules. The discovery of Pestalotiopsis microspora may change all that.
The students of Yale isolated the enzyme that enables the fungus to break down plastic then observed its potential.
"The broad distribution of activity observed and the unprecedented case of anaerobic growth using [polyester polyurethane] as the sole carbon source suggest that endophytes are a promising source of biodiversity from which to screen for metabolic properties useful for bioremediation," they wrote in a report published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday June 22 2015, @07:47PM
I think you are confusing polyurethane (PUR) with polyvinylchloride (PVC). Most wire, cable, and fiber optic cable use PVC for both insulation and jackets. Water pipes are either PVC or PEX (crosslinked polyethylene). Semi Rigid gas pipe, the kind used in streets in lieu of steel or other metals, is polyethylene.
Polyurethane is used in paints, wheel cushions, tubing for pneumatic systems and foam for insulation, forms, and molds. Cut open a car seat, that foam is polyurethane. Same with mattresses and furniture. I think the foam use case is the biggest problem. It is not very good for wire insulation and is only really used for cable jackets for harsh use. Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_polyurethane_applications [wikipedia.org]
From the sound of the article, it appears they have extracted the enzyme that breaks PUR down. So if it is the enzyme which will be used to break down PUR, fine. But spreading around a self replicating fungus which destroys plastics is a really dumb idea.