Marshall Swearingen, MSU News Service

BOZEMAN — Millions of tons of plastic are discarded each day, and for much of it there are few options for conventional recycling. But that material could soon find a new and beneficial use thanks to microbes being harnessed by Montana State University scientists.

In a recent study, researchers in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering found that plastic treated with certain bacteria could be added to concrete in significant quantities without compromising the structural material's strength. The study was published in the journal Materials in Ap...