Ice Cream Flavored With... Plastic?

Would you eat ice cream flavored with plastic? It probably doesn’t sound appetizing. But for her final project at design school, Eleonora Ortolani wanted to see if she could turn plastic pollution into a tasty treat.

Ortolani partnered with a scientist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who had genetically engineered bacteria to break down plastic and produce vanillin. This compound is responsible for vanilla’s classic flavor. Most vanilla found in supermarkets is actually synthetic vanillin, created in a lab from crude oil—the same raw material that is used to make plastic.

Ortolani added the bacteria-processed vanillin to ice cream. The dessert is now on display in a freezer at her college in England. Instead of being disgusted by food made with plastic, says Ortolani, “we need to have conversations around these innovations.”