Researchers have identified a new bacterium that feeds on polyurethane, a kind of plastic that is difficult to recycle or destroy. Scientists say the discovery could help reduce a flood of hard-to-recycle plastics that are ending up in the world’s landfills and polluting oceans. A team from the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, found the new strain of soil bacteria. It was identified in an area that contained a large amount of plastic waste. The team discovered the bacteria were feeding on polyurethane diol, a substance widely used in many different products.