Technological watch

Producing a resin from an organic waste product includes assessing a weight percent of a first volatile fatty acid and a weight percent of a second volatile fatty acid in a liquid mixture having volatile fatty acids from the organic waste product. The weight percent of the volatile fatty acids is based on the total weight of the carboxylic acids in the liquid mixture, the total weight of volatile fatty acids in the liquid mixture, or the total weight of lactic acid and volatile fatty acids in the mixture. A ratio of the weight percent of the first volatile fatty acid to the weight percent of the second volatile fatty acid in the liquid mixture is adjusted to yield a modified liquid mixture. The modified liquid is combined with polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacteria to yield a polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymer; and the polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymer is extracted from the polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacteria.