Scientists are turning plastic waste and corn stalks into edible cookies using genetically engineered yeast; the bizarre food experiment could tackle both pollution and food scarcity

Plastic waste is usually viewed as something that needs to be collected, recycled or kept out of the environment. But researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are exploring a far more unusual possibility. Scientists are turning discarded plastic bottles and agricultural waste into ingredients for edible cookies.

The experimental cookies, called µBites (microbites), are being developed using genetically engineered yeast and a combination of food ingredients. The researchers have not tasted them yet because they are still awaiting institutional approval to conduct the experiment, reports News Scientist.

ALSO READ: Justin Trudeau’s younger brother vanished in 1998 and was never found

How plastic waste could become food

The process begins with used plastic bottles collected from a supermarket, along with discarded sweetcorn stalks and leaves. These materials undergo a process known as oxidative hydrothermal dissolution. Using heat, the process breaks the waste down into smaller components that can be consumed by microbes.

Those components are then supplied to yeast that has been genetically modified using CRISPR gene-editing technology. The engineered yeast is designed to transform the broken-down material into several potentially useful compounds, including proteins, fats and acids.

ALSO READ: "I’ve never encountered a ghost, but until recently…": Japan PM Sanae Takaichi

The researchers also say the process can produce ingredients such as vanilla flavouring and beta-carotene, which the human body can convert into vitamin A.

The strange journey from waste to cookie

The resulting mixture isn't simply served as-is. Researchers add fibre, starch and sweetener before turning the paste into cookies using a 3D printer. The technology allows the mixture to be shaped into different forms.

The finished products have been given the name µBites, pronounced “microbites.” The concept sounds futuristic, but the researchers believe it could eventually demonstrate how waste streams might be transformed into useful materials rather than simply ending up in landfills or the environment.

ALSO READ: In 2014, scientists blasted Mount St. Helens, one of America's most closely watched volcanoes, with 23 explosions, revealing a vast magma system underground

Scientists haven't eaten the cookies yet

Despite developing the experimental cookies, the researchers have not actually tasted them. They are waiting for their university to approve the experiment before sampling the product themselves.

Sandhya Jayasekara, one of the researchers involved in the project, said the cookies already appear promising based on their smell. “I think it has a pleasant, appealing aroma,” Jayasekara told News Scientist. “And it will taste good, too. We’ve not tasted it, but it smells good – that’s for sure – like a real cookie.”

That distinction is important: the researchers' confidence about the taste does not mean the cookies have already been established as safe for human consumption.

ALSO READ: Tech layoffs 2026

Could plastic cookies really solve the plastic crisis?

The researchers themselves acknowledge that the idea is still a long way from becoming a practical food source. Team member Lahiru Jayakody said it could take 20 years of additional research before plastic waste from oceans or landfills could potentially be converted into food that is both safe and appetising.

His hope is that the technology could nevertheless encourage new ways of thinking about plastic pollution and eventually contribute to what he described as “a social shift.”

But other scientists are considerably more sceptical about whether the approach could ever be used at a meaningful scale.

Not everyone thinks the idea will work

Jason Hallett of Imperial College London called the research fun and interesting but questioned whether it could become a commercially viable solution.

“We produce 400 million tons a year of plastic waste. You’re not going to turn it all into cookies,” says Hallet. “So it’s not a solution to the plastic-waste crisis. There’s no way you could do this commercially. We’re not gonna be eating plastic cookies.”

That criticism highlights one of the biggest challenges facing the concept.

Even if the technology can successfully convert certain types of waste into useful ingredients, collecting enormous quantities of plastic and agricultural waste would be a major logistical challenge.

The biggest hurdle may be convincing people to eat it

There is also a psychological obstacle. Consumers are already increasingly concerned about microplastics entering the environment, food and even the human body. Asking people to deliberately eat a product derived from plastic could therefore face an enormous stigma.

The use of genetically engineered yeast could create another hurdle, particularly among consumers who are uncomfortable with genetically modified food.