High School Student Discovers Microbe that Eats Plastic

A 16 year old student at the Waterloo Collegiate Institute in Ontario won the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa when he presented his research on microorganisms that can biodegrade plastic. Plastics usually take around 1000 years to decompose but Daniel Burd's research on microorganisms that speed up plastic decomposition shows that a 43% degradation of plastic in just a matter of six weeks is possible.

500 billion plastic bags are reportedly made each year and are used in a variety of industries. You even use a plastic bag when you buy several types of the best diet pill.

Source:
http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/354044
http://www.mnn.com/technology/research-innovations/blogs/boy-discovers-microbe-that-eats-plastic