This topic was rather fully explored in a 1971 book: Mutant 59: The plastic eaters by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Pedler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_P

This topic was rather fully explored in a 1971 book: Mutant 59: The plastic eaters by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Pedler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Pedler and Gerry Davis (both affiliated with Dr. Who) As a kid that book seemed captivating(scenes of disintegrating airplane, sewage exploding etc.), upon rereading it some years later the plotting and characters seem hackneyed.