Reply #5: More from NYT article

[RedEarth]

Organic catalysts could create a new class of biodegradable plastics to replace those that are difficult to recycle, such as polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, used in a variety of consumer products, including plastic beverage bottles.

These new green plastics could also potentially be used by the pharmaceutical industry as drug delivery devices to treat cancer, according to Mr. Narayan. “The pharma industry has a lot of good drugs on the shelf that they can’t use because they are very toxic,” he said. “You could encapsulate drugs in a bioplastic polymer and deliver them directly to the cancer site. The polymer degrades locally at the site and releases the cargo.”

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/scientists-develop-highly-recyclable-plastic/