CWRU to Investigate Ways to Boost Plastics Recycling

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): A research team from Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) will conduct investigations on how to improve ways in which common plastics could be recycled. The research is being support by a $2.5 million grant as part of U.S. Department of Energy’s Plastics Innovation Challenge.

The research team will focus on developing a new technique that uses a combination of chemical and mechanical recycling processes to upcycle up to 80% of the plastic intake, the university news release said. According to João Maia, lead researcher, the new project would provide significant improvement of the industry wide recycling rate to below 10%. The new technology would be a game-changer, not only for the plastics industry, but also for the entire environment.

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The outcome of the research is expected to introduce new technology to remove contaminants from sorted plastic scrap. Additionally, it could lead to easy and environment-friendly recycling of a wide variety of hard-to-recycle plastics. Initially, the research will take place at CWRU. The testing will be carried out off-site.

The project is one among the 12, for which the DOE had awarded a total of $27 in funding, in support of advanced plastics recycling technologies.