Never-ending polymers: US scientists discover method of infinitely recycling plastic

29 Sep 2022 --- Scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder, US, discovered how to infinitely recycle plastic, creating full circularity for the material. By keeping the fundamental components of plastic intact, researchers claim plastic packaging can now have a never-ending life, which could lead to less plastic waste and production costs.

Traditional plant recycling processes give plastic a limited life span, breaking it down in such a way that it cannot be reused for the same product. Now, plastic can keep its original structure and be continuously recycled into its original packaging without losing its properties.

The researchers used a hard plastic notoriously challenging to recycle and commonly used in aerospace and microelectronics. They confirmed that their method could extend to all types of plastic, starting with the most difficult to reuse.

“By using our new approach, we can prepare many new materials – some of which could have similar properties to the plastics in our daily life,” says Wei Zhang, lead author of the study and chair of the chemistry department at the University of Boulder.

Creating infinite packages
Using “reversible chemistry,” polymers from the plastic were broken down into their original monomer structure, allowing them to be reused. These monomers serve as the basic building blocks for the plastic, creating circularly to rebuild back into polymers for the same product repeatedly.

Researchers discover a way to recycle plastic packages so they are reusable forever, reducing environmental impact and cost for manufacturers. “It can benefit future design and development of plastics to not only create new polymers, but it’s also very important to know how to convert, upcycle and recycle older polymers,” says Zhang.

Typically, plastic is mechanically broken down into powders and then burned or bathed in solutions to create small flakes or pellets to be molded into new products. However, this process does not allow for the same item to be made since the plastic eventually breaks down into less material until it is unusable.

Instead of breaking down the plastic packaging, scientists activated “dormant” covalent bonds, allowing traditional polycyanurate thermosets to be recycled into monomers. Current industrial recycling plants can adopt this chemical method.

“This chemistry can also be dynamic, can be reversible, and that bond can be reformed,” claims Zhang.

“These chemical units essentially represent a new class of plastic material that can be used to build things, break them apart, and rebuild them over and over again,” states the study.

Plastic reusability solution
This study opens the door to an effective solution for companies to reuse their packages. Using one infinite package times substantially reduces business costs and environmental impact.

Recently, EU companies raised concerns about The European Commission imposing a 50% recycled content guideline for plastic packaging by 2025. They have fears that much of the plastic used in F&B packaging is impossible to recycle almost anywhere in Europe. However, this new technology may be able to silence that fear.

According to Innova Market Insights, 20% of US consumers believe large F&B companies contribute most to the global plastic pollution crisis. In 2021, plastic was tracked as the leading packaging material among global supplement launches.

By Sabine Waldeck

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