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The Conversation USA

Most plastic recycling produces low-value materials – but we've found a way to turn a common plastic into high-value molecules

  • Written by Susannah Scott, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, University of California Santa Barbara
imageBales of plastic waste destined for recycling.Koron/Getty Images

If you thought those flimsy disposable plastic grocery bags represented most of our plastic waste problem, think again. The volume of plastic the world throws away every year could rebuild the Ming Dynasty’s Great Wall of China – about 3,700 miles long.

In the six decades...

Read more: Most plastic recycling produces low-value materials – but we've found a way to turn a common...

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