Exploring biodegradable alternatives: microorganism-mediated plastic degradation and environmental policies for sustainable plastic management.

Plastics offer versatility, durability and low production costs, but they also pose environmental and health risks due to improper disposal, accumulation in water bodies, low recycling rates and temporal action that causes physicochemical changes in plastics and the release of toxic products to animal health and nature. Some microorganisms may play crucial roles in improving plastic waste management in the future. Cunningamella echinulata has been identified as a promising candidate that remains viable for long periods and produces a cutinase that is capable of degrading plastic.