Anne S. Meyer, an associate professor at the University of Rochester, has engineered a living solution to one of the ocean's most persistent problems: the millions of tons of plastic waste that enter Earth's waters every year, only to linger for decades in cold, dark depths where standard biodegradable plastics refuse to break down.
The answer lies in reusable "bio-stickers"—3D-printed materials embedded with specially selected bacteria that actively consume bioplastic in marine environments. Meyer and her collaborators developed these stickers using polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), a polyester that bacteria have been producing naturally for billions of years. Because marine microbes have evolved to break down PHB over those eons, the stickers harness this ancient biological process to accelerate what would otherwise be decades of ocean waste accumulation.
The breakthrough is especially urgent for oceanographers. Research vessels increasingly deploy expendable plastic instruments into the ocean to observe and predict critical phenomena—sensors that are often never retrieved, quietly adding to marine debris. Meyer points to the inherent tension in this practice: "While these expendable ocean sensors are revolutionizing ocean research, they inherently pose a threat to the same environments that they are studying." Her team's ocean-degradable plastics offer a way to study the ocean without poisoning it.
The work draws on a collaboration spanning multiple institutions and expertise. Alyson Santoro at UC Santa Barbara cultures bacteria specifically selected to thrive in cold ocean conditions, while oceanographer Melissa Omand at the University of Rhode Island contributes field perspective. Ecologist Ryan Freedman from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and industry partner Mango Materials round out the effort. The team consulted widely with regulators and nonprofits dealing with marine debris, discovering a spectrum of needs: some users wanted materials that would disappear in a day, others required durability for a year, and still others wanted the ability to trigger degradation on demand.
Meyer's lab has developed first-of-their-kind bacterial 3D printers that embed PHB-degrading bacteria directly into engineered living materials—the bio-stickers themselves. Photographs from the lab show prototypes shaped like the letters "U" and "R" and a Meliora seal, placed in petri dishes where they visibly degrade the bioplastic around them. This controllable approach transforms what Meyer calls "a proof-of-concept that we could use living, engineered materials to help get rid of plastic in marine environments, making bioplastics more practical and environmentally friendly."
The potential extends beyond research instruments. Meyer and her colleagues have also founded Nereid Biomaterials, a startup commercializing ocean-degradable plastics for broader marine applications. Already, several oceanographic equipment manufacturers have committed to replace all or a large portion of their traditional petroleum-based plastic parts with the team's materials. This shift promises to introduce what Meyer describes as "new sustainability into the fields of ocean observation, reef restoration, and maritime defense"—turning a climate solution into an industry standard.