Fascinating: Plastic Producing Bacteria

I don't know what impact this development will have on landfills but it will certainly lower our consumption of oil...

Scientists at Genomatica Inc. recently announced that they have developed strains of bacteria that are able to produce a key component that goes into the manufacturing of plastic without the use of oil or natural gas. The sustainable process utilizes little more than sugar and water to produce butanediol (BDO), which can be manufactured into everything from plastics and fibers to pharmaceuticals. Genomatica estimates that within a year the energy-efficient process will cost less than current hydrocarbon-based processes - a revolutionary development since close to 3 billion pounds of BDO manufactured each year.

Update: Out one bacterium in another. In an unrelated discovery researchers have identified a bacteria that eats plastic. Just gotta luv those clever scientists.