New Recycling Process Could Recycle 100% of Plastic Packaging

One of the most disappointing aspects of Christmas (besides the crazed consumerism) is the piles of plastic packaging left over after the morning commotion. In fact, Science Daily reports that each American consumes an average of 120 grams of plastic wrapping on Christmas gifts, most of which is not recyclable. But that might just change (the recycling part, not the wasteful plastic packaging) thanks to a new technique for processing practically any type of plastic. Now that is some Christmas wish come true…

According to Science Daily, researchers at the University of Warwick have figured out a way to deal with the plastic packaging that so far can’t go in the recycling bin. Where normally only about 12% of plastic waste is really recycled (though that number might actually be higher, at least in the US; for example, plastic bottle recycling hovers at around 25%, and recycling businesses have tripled in the US in recent years), the new process could deal with 100% of plastics.

University of Warwick reports, “The Warwick researchers have devised a unit which uses pyrolysis (using heat in the absence of oxygen to decompose of materials) in a “fluidised bed” reactor. Tests completed in the last week have shown that the researchers have been able to literally shovel in to such a reactor a wide range of mixed plastics which can then be reduced down to useful products many of which can then be retrieved by simple distillation.”

Read the entire article here.

Source: Treehugger
By Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco