Bacteria Create Plastic, Bacteria Decompose Plastic

Scientists at Cornell University are figuring out how to use a plastic produced from bacteria that has been around for decades but has hardly been used.

The plastic, polyhydroxybutyrate, or PHB, has seen limited commercial use because it is a brittle plastic that breaks easily. However, the scientists at Cornell have created a hybrid of this PHB that contains more nanoparticles, which makes it stronger and causes it to biodegrade faster than petroleum-based plastic. Their prototype almost completely broke down in a compost chamber after only seven weeks.

They say this has the potential to be used for a wide array of uses, and can be turned into objects like soft drink bottles or medical implants. I'm not sure whether this plastic would require special composting disposal methods, such as bioplastics made from corn, or whether it will biodegrade in a landfill, but the possibility of easily eliminating plastic waste without having to recycle it into a lower-quality product makes the lifecycle of our products much more sustainable.