A student may have found a solution to one of theworld's most urgent environmental crises – breeding bacteria capable of “eating” plastic and potentially breaking it down into harmless by-products.

一名学生发现了可以用来解决当今世界最亟待解决的环境危机的方法。那就是繁殖可以“吃”塑料，并将其分解成无害的副产品的微生物。

The microbes degrade polyethylene terephthalate– one of the world's most common plastics, used in clothing, drinks bottles and food packaging.

该微生物可以对世界上最常见的塑料——聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯进行降解。该塑料常被用于布料，饮料瓶，还有食物包装。

It takes centuries to break down, in the meantime doing untold damage to its surroundings.

这种塑料通常要好几百年才能降解，同时也会对环境有着不可估量的损害。

Morgan Vague, who is studying biology at Reed College in Oregon, said the process, if sped up, could play a “big part” of solutions to the planet's plastic problem, which sees millions of tonnesdumped in landfill and oceans every year.

就读于俄勒冈里德学院生物专业的学生Morgan Vague，称如果进展加速的话，就能够解决世界上“大部分”的塑料问题，因为每年都有百万吨的塑料垃圾掩埋或者投入海中。

Around 300 million tonnes of plastic is discarded each year, and only about 10 per cent of it is recycled.

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