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Artist creates ice cream made from plastic
It's simply vanilla ice cream, but this version of the sweet treat is actually made from the same materials found in plastic bottles.
Plastic ice cream: you read that right. This version of the sweet treat is actually made from the same materials found in plastic bottles.
Scientists in Scotland are using special bacteria and enzymes to break down a chemical compound in plastic and convert it into something called vanillin.
London artist and designer Eleoanora Ortolani is using the new material to make what she says is the world's first ice cream made with plastic.
The cold confection is on display in an art installation called "Guilty Flavors."
"We have the tools today to rethink the food system we're living in," said Ortolani. "This project started from a very big frustration about how the plastic recycling system cannot keep up and also that despite all the information around plastic, plastic production is not decreasing."
Scientists say the ice cream hasn't been cleared for people to eat yet.
"This has to go through exactly the same regulatory processes and food standard processes as any other food ingredient and only once it has been through all of those would it go anywhere near any kind of consumer product," said biotechnologist Joanna Sdaler.
Still, it's sparking a conversation about plastic pollution and what we can do with it. According to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, only 9 percent of the world's plastic waste is recycled.
Natural vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world. Harnessing vanilla flavor from plastic could provide a cheaper product and reduce waste in the future.