Producing resins from organic waste products

A method of producing a polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymer from an organic waste product, the method comprising:

• (a) assessing a wt % of a first volatile fatty acid and a wt % of a second volatile fatty acid in a liquid mixture comprising volatile fatty acids from the organic waste product 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;
• (b) adjusting a ratio of the wt % of the first volatile fatty acid to the wt % of the second volatile fatty acid in the liquid mixture to yield a modified liquid mixture;
• (c) combining the modified liquid mixture with polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacteria;
• (d) fermenting the polyhydroxyalkanoale-producing bacteria in the modified liquid mixture to yield a polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymer;
• and
• (e) extracting the polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymer from the polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacteria, wherein adjusting the ratio of the wt % of the first volatile fatty acid to the wt % of the second volatile fatty acid comprises:
• (i) combining an additional quantity of the first volatile fatty acid, an additional quantity of the second volatile fatty acid, or both to the liquid mixture;
• or
• (ii) removing a quantity of the first volatile fatty acid, a quantity of the second volatile fatty acid, or both from the liquid mixture.