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Two Young Adults have Bioengineered a Bacteria to Breakdown Plastic Waste
This concept could help keep millions of tons of plastic waste out of the world's landfills and bodies of water.
1 Min Read
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao developed a scientific breakthrough to combat the ongoing issue of plastic waste when they were just teenagers. Now, at 22 years of age, the duo has taken their scientific concept and turned it into a company called BioCellection, which is backed by nearly $400,000 from investors.
Wang and Yao have ultimately bioengineered a bacteria that breaks down plastic waste faster than the 500 to 1,000 years that it takes for plastic to breakdown in a landfill. And this week, they are in negotiations with a city in California for their first commercial contract.
GreenBiz has more information:
When they were not yet 20 years old, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao came up with a scientific breakthrough to solve one of the most stubborn environmental problems — what to do with millions of tons of plastic waste that spoil our oceans and fill our landfills.
Now, having parlayed a high school biotechnology science project into university majors and then into winning a slew of prestigious business plan and social impact contests and then into a company — BioCellection — that has garnered nearly $400,000 from investors, Wang and Yao are on the cusp of a yet another breakthrough: commercialization.
The young scientist-entrepreneurs are negotiating what may be their first commercial contract for their technology, perhaps crossing that hurdle of turning a great scientific idea into a scalable, marketable product. Wang said a major California city is talking with them this week about integrating BioCellection’s technology into its waste recycling process.
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