The plastic waste crisis is on everybody's mind, so it is interesting to hear about new and exciting technologies that could help solve this crisis. Researchers have found microbes that can not only produce but also break down a type of plastic. This plastic has the potential to be used in products that may otherwise go to landfill.

The plastics are known as Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and are made up, like a typical plastic, of a chain of polymers. Interestingly, these polymer chains can be functionalised with many different chemical groups, meaning that theoretically almost any plastic can be mimicked by this microbially derived plastic.

Dr. Andrea Westlie is a researcher who has worked on these plastics, and in todays episode gave a great overview of what they are, how we can improve them and other possibilities for solving the plastic waste crisis.

Check out Andrea on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-westlie-9b0339121/