Core77

We designers can have a positive impact on the environment by spec'ing out green-friendly materials, but that's for products and stuff we're working on now. What about all the junk that's already been made? Chains like Whole Foods have switched from plastic bags to paper, but what about the plastic bags that have already gone into the wastestream at an estimated rate of 500 billion to 1 trillion a year?

Help is here, from an unexpected source: Canadian high school student Daniel Burd, who has reportedly discovered how to speed up the decomposition of plastic bags using a specific cocktail of bacteria. Left on their own, plastic bags can take centuries to decompose; with Burd's brew, it allegedly takes three months!

Also, here's a bizarre tale (with photos) that you'll swear is an urban myth:

A dolphin in a Chinese aquarium mistook a floating plastic bag for food and ate it. Obviously this could kill the dolphin, so surgery was performed to try to remove the bag. After the surgery failed, aquarium authorities then enlisted the help of the world's tallest man, 7'9" Bao Xishun, to reach his long arms into the dolphin's stomach to remove the plastic bag manually.

via dvice and no plastic bags