Engineered bacterium turns potato starch into biodegradable plastic in 24 hours

Every year, hundreds of millions of tons of petrochemical-based plastics are produced, much of which ends up in the environment or is incinerated. This exacerbates greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental crisis caused by plastic pollution. Now, a study led by the University of Barcelona has produced a biodegradable bioplastic of high industrial value—polyhydroxybutyrate, or PHB—from unprocessed potato starch in a single 24-hour step, a strategic breakthrough that could help reduce dependence on oil and the volume of persistent plastic waste.