Plastic consumption and production are at an all-time high. According to the United Nations Development Programme, around 9% of all plastic waste globally is recycled, and 79% ends its life in landfills or nature.
Polymers are found in almost every material used in our daily lives.
For example, washing clothes leads to microplastic particles being poured into the ocean.
This is why creating new cycles of life for plastic is essential for life and global sustainability.
Chemists from the University of California, Berkeley have found a way to process the largest components of plastic waste: polypropylene and polyethylene.
The former is what most plastic bags are made of, and the latter is used to make more resistant objects, such as luggage or dishware.
Essentially, the process consists of two common catalysts—sodium on aluminium oxide and tungsten oxide on silica—which break the chemical bonds of the plastic molecules. These molecules become “gaseous monomers”, which can enable the fabrication of new plastics such as propylene.
The new plastics have “all the properties of virgin material”.
There are some challenges to this discovery.
A Cardiff University Doctor, Benjamin Ward, argues that the recycling of plastic is hindered by the presence of additives, such as dyes, flame retardants, and plasticisers.
These additional materials constitute up to a third of a finished product and contaminate the recycled output.
Even though recycling is considered to be an environmental hero, it merely postpones landfill disposal and the waste disaster.
However, this discovery solves the additive problem, as the plastics are reduced to gaseous monomers which consequently removes additives.
The experiment has been tested only on more common additives, so there is still work to be done.
This process is considered to be a beacon of hope for the environment, as it could create a “new circular economy for plastics”.
Plastic has been the subject of debate for many years now.
Should we stop making plastic? Is there a future without it?
Plastic pollution presents numerous threats to biodiversity and compounds our ever-worsening waste problem.
With the consumerist society in which we live, plastic eradication is not a feasible option as polymers are too essential for our economy.
John Hartwig, a scientist developing this project, is trying to solve the plastic issue while also keeping in mind our society’s tendencies: “One can argue that we should do away with all polyethylene and polypropylene and use only new circular materials. But the world’s not going to do that for decades and decades. Polyolefins are cheap, and they have good properties, so everybody uses them.”
“People say if we could figure out a way to make them circular, it would be a big deal, and that’s what we’ve done. One can begin to imagine a commercial plant that would do this.”