From microplastics clogging up our oceans to landfills leaching out dangerous chemicals, plastic waste is a serious and growing problem for human health and the environment. We need to recycle more, and crucially, recycle better.
Most plastic that is recycled is melted and remoulded into lower-quality products such as carpet fibres and garden planters, before eventually ending up in landfill or the incinerator. This is downcycling rather than proper recycling. Current methods don’t enable the recovery of the original components of the waste – that means they cannot be truly recycled back into new high-quality plastic.
