 A lot of waste is produced on a global scale, unless the waste is recycled, it fills up in our landfills, destroys habitats, and will be a very serious health hazard. Imagine if one day the waste that we produce can be naturally broken down by microbes in the environment, or dissolve into safer materials. This principle explores such a concept. Ideally, whatever we use and throw away would present no hazard to the environment, and would not accumulate in landfills. If you've ever had to get stitches because of an injury, the stitches slowly dissolve over time. This is in fact a polymer called polyglycolic acid, which is broken down into its respective monomers by enzymes in our body. This is then either respired as carbon dioxide or excreted in our urine. There is a new class of plastics known as the bioplastics. These polymers are made from natural monomers, such as cellulose and lactic acid, and can be broken down in the environment. For more information on these, please see our Synthetic Polymers video. As a result of these bioplastics, carrier bags can be broken apart by microbes in the environment. This is important because it reduces the amount of waste that accumulates in landfills. Egg cartons, once made of polystyrene, which is derived from petroleum-based products, are now usually packaged in recycled newspaper material, which can be recycled and therefore do not accumulate as waste.