There could be a small answer to the world’s very big plastic problem.

Scientists report in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology that they have identified a strain of bacteria that breaks down polyurethane and eats it in a waste site where piles of plastic that are too difficult to recycle are dumped.

The Pseudomonas bacteria is the first known to attack polyurethane. While fungi has previously shown it is capable of breaking down polyurethane, bacteria are more practical and easier to harness for industrial use.