A new process to recycle existing plastics indefinitely and reduce the flood of plastics into landfills is being developed by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley.
From sandwich bags and microwaveable containers to shampoo bottles and chip bags, plastics are durable, low-cost and lightweight. But plastic waste is also tough and costly to recycle. The recycled plastic is often low quality and has to be mixed with new plastics manufactured with petroleum products. In addition, each time recycled plastic is processed the quality of the plastic degrades and eventually ends up in landfills.
The new process breaks down these plastics, also referred to as polyolefins, into their basic molecular building blocks and allows them to be turned into valuable new products. The process also works with mixed plastics which are notoriously hard to recycle. Details of the research are in a new report published in the peer-reviewed journal Science.'I was quite happy that we were able to throw polypropylene into the reactor and it worked for the first time,' said Conk.
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