Growing Plastic

摘要

That's how long it can take for a plastic bag to decompose in a landfill. And some parts of it never disappear. But what if you could produce a bag that breaks down in months or even weeks and generates biofuel along the way?rnResearchers from Metabolix, a biotechnology firm in Massachusetts, think they've found a way to do just that, growing biodegradable plastic within the leaves of genetically engineered switchgrass. Scientists have grown plastic inside plants before-Monsanto did it with the rapeseed plant in the 1990s-but Metabolix is the first to do it in such an affordable bioenergy crop, offering up the tantalizing prospect of a renewable fuel source that doubles as a petroleum-free plastic factory.