According to a recent BBC report, scientists have developed a way to turn used plastic into fuel. Only 10% of the seven billion tonnes of plastics ever created, according to the paper, are recycled. According to Dilyana Mihaylova, the Plastics Programme Manager for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, this causes billions of dollars’ worth of priceless plastics and related materials to be lost.
According to the report, more than 350 million tonnes of plastic are manufactured each year, 85% of which end up in the environment as waste. Yet, by adding different chemicals that may turn polymers into their raw form and even create fuels that resemble fossil fuels, the recycling industry can make plastics useful.
Despite attempts, some experts have opposed this approach because they think fuel conversions from plastics can’t be trusted to address the issue of plastic pollution. As a result, the topic of recycling plastic for petrochemical conversion is still hotly contested.
Waste plastics are loaded with energy and certain compounds, according to Erwin Reisner, professor of energy and sustainability at the University of Cambridge. Finding techniques to recycle plastics into practical goods, like gasoline, could be a big step towards long-term solutions to the world’s rising plastic waste problem.
