12/01/22 – Our partners at RWTH Aachen University and collaborators have recently published a paper which evaluates the potential of plastic monomers as carbon sources for biotechnology.  Plastic monomers can be upcycled into products of industrial interest and value and some fossil-based products for which plastic monomers might offer alternative carbon sources are highlighted in the paper. It is hoped that the paper can serve as a guide to future metabolic engineering for the upcycling of plastic waste and a sustainable plastic economy.  The paper ‘The metabolic potential of plastics as biotechnological carbon sources – Review and targets for the future’ can be found here.