A team of scientists in China recently demonstrated this somewhat comically idealistic solution, reporting their findings in a recent paper published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials. This new “living” plastic, as the team describes it, contains plastic-degrading microbes that activate and self-destruct on command. Although this isn’t the first time scientists have tested similar materials, the new experiment looks promising. A proof-of-concept test with a wearable plastic electrode confirmed that, as intended, the plastic degraded completely within two weeks. Scientists had consistently explored whether some bacteria known to be capable of breaking down polymers could be engineered within plastic. In...