Little of the mixed consumer plastics thrown away or placed in recycle bins actually ends up being recycled. Nearly 90% is buried in landfills or incinerated at commercial facilities that generate greenhouse gases and airborne toxins. Neither outcome is ideal for the environment.
Interesting discovery! I’d bet oil and petrochemical companies would be all over funding and trying to commercialize this research, because it means we wouldn’t need to fully “wean off plastics”…
The industry isn’t only aiming for society to keep depending on plastic, they’re planning for an increase in plastic production. That obviously mean an increase in plastic wastes.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/664906/plastics-production-volume-forecast-worldwide/