The discovery was made in wetlands at the city of Greater Noida, located a few miles outside the Indian capital.

The Indian scientists from Shiv Nadar University discovered two types of bacteria that can break down polystyrene, which is used in, for example, disposable articles and plastic packaging.

"What started as a scientific discovery in the wetlands of the university area has resulted in this important discovery of plastic-eating bacteria," says Rupamanjari Ghosh of Shiv Nadar University to the Times of India.

Huge amounts of junk

The hope is that the discovery will lead to new, more environmentally friendly methods for recycling plastic and removing plastic debris in nature.

"Human dependence on plastic articles has increased significantly over the years, resulting in huge amounts of plastic waste in the environment, leading to adverse effects on the ecosystem," Richa Priyadarshini, leader of the research team behind the discovery, told the Times of India.

Similar findings were made in 2016 when Japanese researchers found a bacterium that could break down PET plastic.