Japanese scientists discovered bacteria at a rubbish dump that digest plastic, converting it into energy for growth in 2001. Kohei Oda, leading the team, sought to find solutions to synthetic fabric waste and believes in microbes' ability to solve scientific problems.

These bacteria fully break down plastics into basic nutrients, a finding that was not initially seen as important and went unpublished. Since the early 2000s, the significance of this discovery has become apparent as plastic pollution has escalated dramatically.

Existing recycling methods for plastics are ineffective, as plastic quality degrades with each recycle, unlike glass or aluminum.