Engineering biologists at the University of Edinburgh have developed a way to turn PET (the common plastic used for disposable bottles) into the popular painkiller acetaminophen. All it takes is a bit of bacteria and time to ferment the treated waste. The entire process is carried out at room temperature.
Of course, they have to keep the bacteria from mutating.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-025-01845-5
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