Latest Research Opens Up Novel Method to Recycle Plastics Infinitely

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest research by chemists at Argonne National Laboratory in DuPage County has unveiled a new technique to recycle certain plastics infinitely. This could bring about drastic changes in recycling of most commonly used packaging such as containers used for milk, laundry detergents.

The current recycling technique used to process high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or No.2 plastics results in loss of material properties, as a result of which it can be recycled only limited number of times. On the contrary, the novel method converts used HDPE into material that can be recycled infinite number of times.

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The process has been developed following four years of research by a team led by Argonne chemist Massimiliano Delferro in association with Cornell University. The big challenge to the process is that it makes use of extremely rare and expensive elements. The team is currently focused on scaling up the process so that it can be brought to market. The immediate requirement is to replace the expensive catalysts with cheaper alternatives that could carry out the same function, Delferro said.

It must be noted that researchers have been trying to replicate the PET recycling process for No.2 plastics, but they have been unsuccessful so far, mainly due to the notable difference in their chemical structure with PET.