Plastic recycling: the one pot method

Plastic is arguably one of the most amazing materials ever invented in terms of how useful and robust it is. But, plastics are notoriously hard to recycle back into their component chemicals, and that limits what else we can do with them. Now, scientists in the US have developed a new catalyst that can break apart common plastics and turn them into a host of helpful, high-value chemicals that can be recycled into other useful products. Cambridge University’s Taylor Uekert works on ways to deal with plastic waste and she talked Katie Haylor through what the US team have managed to do...