Most of the 150 million tons of plastics produced around the world every year end up in landfills, the oceans and elsewhere. Less than 9 percent of plastics are recycled in the United States, rising to about 30 percent in Europe.
But new approaches can increase the amount of plastic waste that can be successfully recycled, researchers from the University of Houston and IBM reported a perspective published in the journal Science.
That means developing new plastics that are more easily recycled, along with finding ways to more efficiently recycle existing plastics. These approaches can range from methods to recycle different types of plastics together in one waste stream, avoiding a costly and time-consuming sorting process, as well as methods to break down plastics in a more energy-efficient manner.
“Recent research points the way toward chemical recycling methods with lower energy requirements, compatibilization of mixed plastic wastes to avoid the need for sorting, and expanding recycling technologies to traditionally nonrecyclable polymers,” wrote the article authors, Megan Robertson, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UH and Jeannette Garcia, a polymer chemist at the IBM Almaden Research Center.
Improving methods to recycle existing plastic materials is a key priority.
“New materials enter the market slowly, and thus the biggest impact is in developing more efficient methods to recycle the plastics that are produced in large quantities today,” said Robertson. “One the other hand, research advances can pave the way for more easily recyclable materials for the future.” One example is the category of polymers known as thermosets, which can’t be melted down for repurposing, preventing their recycling with traditional methods.
Robertson’s lab develops biorenewable components for thermosets, replacing hydrocarbon-based polymers with those made from vegetable oils or other plant-based materials. That could lead to new end-of-life options such as composting or chemical recycling for these materials, a huge leap forward.
The perspective is part of a series published by Science to explore issues related to the environmental impact of polymers, including their source (petroleum vs. biosources), advances in recycling and biodegradable polymers.
Most of the 150 million tons of plastics produced around the world every year end up in landfills, the oceans and elsewhere. Less than 9 percent of plastics are recycled in the United States, rising to about 30 percent in Europe.
But new approaches can increase the amount of plastic waste that can be successfully recycled, researchers from the University of Houston and IBM reported a perspective published in the journal Science.
That means developing new plastics that are more easily recycled, along with finding ways to more efficiently recycle existing plastics. These approaches can range from methods to recycle different types of plastics together in one waste stream, avoiding a costly and time-consuming sorting process, as well as methods to break down plastics in a more energy-efficient manner.
“Recent research points the way toward chemical recycling methods with lower energy requirements, compatibilization of mixed plastic wastes to avoid the need for sorting, and expanding recycling technologies to traditionally nonrecyclable polymers,” wrote the article authors, Megan Robertson, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UH and Jeannette Garcia, a polymer chemist at the IBM Almaden Research Center.
Improving methods to recycle existing plastic materials is a key priority.
“New materials enter the market slowly, and thus the biggest impact is in developing more efficient methods to recycle the plastics that are produced in large quantities today,” said Robertson. “One the other hand, research advances can pave the way for more easily recyclable materials for the future.” One example is the category of polymers known as thermosets, which can’t be melted down for repurposing, preventing their recycling with traditional methods.
Robertson’s lab develops biorenewable components for thermosets, replacing hydrocarbon-based polymers with those made from vegetable oils or other plant-based materials. That could lead to new end-of-life options such as composting or chemical recycling for these materials, a huge leap forward.
The perspective is part of a series published by Science to explore issues related to the environmental impact of polymers, including their source (petroleum vs. biosources), advances in recycling and biodegradable polymers.
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