Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have engineered Escherichia coli bacteria to convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste into paracetamol. Combining chemical degradation of PET with a novel biological Lossen rearrangement reaction in E. coli, the method achieved a 92% conversion rate of degraded plastic to the painkiller compound. This biotechnological innovation, detailed in Nature Chemistry, was supported in part by AstraZeneca and signifies an advance in sustainable pharmaceutical production using waste feedstocks.