Plastic-to-cookie: Microbes bake vanilla cookies from PET bottles

Researchers at Southern Illinois University converted plastic bottles’ PET into edible μBites by breaking PET down with biomass and using engineered yeasts to turn plastic-derived molecules into proteins, vitamins, and flavors, then forming cookie-shaped dough via 3D printing. Aimed at disaster or deep-space food, the approach requires taste-testing approval and currently costs about $60 per kilogram, with ongoing work to add vanilla flavoring and beta-carotene while public acceptance remains a hurdle.