Scientists Figured Out How to Turn Plastic Waste Into a Parkinson's Drug

A University of Edinburgh team used engineered Escherichia coli to convert material derived from PET plastic into the drug levodopa.

The process begins by breaking PET (polyethylene terephthalate) into its constituent parts, including terephthalic acid (TPA).

Two bacterial strains are run sequentially to take up TPA and convert it into levodopa.

This work is a laboratory proof-of-concept and has not yet been scaled for industrial production.

Researchers note the approach's potential, even if the world's entire supply of levodopa were produced by this process.