A Virginia-based genetics technology company and a Hong Kong ad agency are using the DNA people leave behind on their litter to print computer-generated images of their faces on wanted posters.

The company’s first project launched last month in Hong Kong, reports the South China Morning Post. Yet the science behind the idea has existed for years.

In 2012, New York City-based artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg used the same technology to make sculptures of complete strangers using only the tiny bits of DNA left on discarded cigarettes and chewing gum that she collected from the streets of New York.

Her exhibit, called “Stranger Visions,” has been shown in galleries across the world.