Petition · past parliament · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Invest in research and projects to break down plastics with fungi

Closed 38 signatures

What the petition asks

Scientists have found that certain fungi are able to break down some hard to recycle plastic waste. We want the Government to provide funding to pursue groundbreaking research in this area, and supporting the rollout of this method at scale.
Right now 91% of the plastic we use isn't recycled, and every minute another truckloads-worth is dumped into the ocean, suffocating sea life and spreading pollutants across shores. Humans are not immune to this problem, every day we consume them in the form of microplastics and governments spend millions to clean pollution caused by plastic. These fungi could help break down a significant proportion of plastic waste that is currently being dumped in the ocean.

Timeline

23 May 2023 Petition opened for signatures
23 Nov 2023 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 38
Status Closed
Department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened 23 May 2023
Closed 23 Nov 2023

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.