Illinois Researchers Make Shocking Cookies From Plastic Waste

Illinois researchers at Southern Illinois University have been working to turn plastic waste into 3D-printed edible food, and they've actually done it. Now my sweet tooth has about a million questions.

Would You Eat 3D Printed Food?

I have a confession to make: I have a pretty serious sweet tooth. Give me a warm chocolate chip cookie, a brownie or pretty much anything involving frosting and sugar, and I'll probably always say yes.

I also have a 3D printer, which is why I was especially fascinated, and honestly, a little horrified, to learn that researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale have been using 3D-printing technology to make edible cookies from plastic waste.

Yes, you read that correctly. Plastic cookies.

Until today, my only involvement with plastic cookies were the play food kind my kids would "feed" me when they were little. Now I find myself wondering, is my sweet tooth serious enough to try 3D printed cookies?

Is Plastic Food In Our Future?

If the term "plastic food" has you imagining someone tossing shredded water bottles into a food processor, don't worry. You're not actually eating chunks of plastic, and it looks like SIU researchers have been working on this technology for a while. Here's a post about the project from 2024 that I found:

So, why are people suddenly talking about this project more than two years later?

SIU researchers just demonstrated that creating edible food from our own plastic waste and specially engineered yeast is actually possible, and might actually taste good!

Here's how the technology works according to an article from Futurism:

The yeast breaks down the components of plastic compounds and agricultural byproducts like discarded plant stalks into proteins, fats, acids, and flavorings that we can eat. When these are combined together, the mixture is fed into a 3D printer that spits out cookies of any desired shape.

Researchers say the cookies have a pleasant, cookie-like aroma, and they're confident the finished product will taste good, although they haven't received approval from the university to taste them yet.

Still, the idea is pretty incredible. The technology could potentially address two enormous problems at once: plastic waste and food production. The project is also connected to NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge, so one possible future use is feeding astronauts during lengthy missions.

Would I eat one? I'm still not sure, but being able to 3D print yummy cookies out of my home's recycling certainly is intriguing.