Two months ago, a team from Kyoto University discovered a plastic-eating bacteria able to break down PET. Now, two students from the University of Pennsylvania, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have developed bacteria that can break down ocean-bound plastic waste. Having first worked on the problem in high school, they have since filed two patents, founded a company called BioCellection, and raised about $400,000. They're still only 22 and 21 years old. They have a prototype for breaking down polystyrene into CO2 and water, and they see their technology being used in two ways—first, for landfill and beach cleanups, and, second, to create a secondary product to be used in textile manufacturing. http://www.fastcoexist.com/3059629/...ping-bacteria-that-eats-our-plastic-pollution