(Joris van Baalen / Flickr)

As an agricultural state, Idaho has a lot of cows and with a lot of cows comes a lot of manure.

For many farmers this can quickly turn into a pollution headache, especially when it's time for disposal. However, this waste could soon become an important facet of sustainability. Over the last few years, cow manure has been reused to make, not just fertilizer, but electricity, fuel, packaging and now plastic.

Erik Coats, Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Idaho, joins Idaho Matters to talk more about this unique commodity.