How could you convert the dust, leaves and cigarettes that litter the side of the road into something useful and valuable?

In this month's podcast, we spoke to Dr Angela Murray from the University of Birmingham about using microbes to turn waste into high-end products.

We hear about a patented technology to convert road dust into precious metal catalysts, and how cleaning up heavy metal pollution can be used to make powerful crystals called quantum dots (pictured).

Image credit: Antipoff on Wikimedia under CC BY-SA 3.0

Music: Kosmiche Slop by Anenon, Day Bird by Broke For Free, Mells by Broke for Free, Lights - And Counting by Action Davis

Sound Effects: Traffic by malupeeters, Car Engine by Pogotron, purr Tims by aivaaroo