The disposal of plastics is a global problem. They are nearly indestructible in natural conditions but are discarded worldwide on a large scale. The world produces around 359 million metric tons<\/a> of plastics each year. Nature cannot address the amount of their disposal at a speed fast enough to prevent harm to living beings.<\/p>\n There is a consensus that plastics are an unsustainable material. And yes, plastics are certainly an enormous problem, but they don\u2019t necessarily have to be. The main issue is with our linear economic model: goods are produced, consumed, then disposed of. This model assumes endless economic growth and doesn\u2019t consider the planet\u2019s exhaustible resources.<\/p>\n Most people believe that plastics recycling is severely restricted: that only a few types can be recycled at all. This is unsurprising. The proportion of plastics that are recycled is minimal. The UK, for example, uses five million tonnes<\/a> of plastic each year, and only 370,000 tonnes<\/a> are recycled each year: that\u2019s just 7%.<\/p>\n But all polymers are, technologically, 100% recyclable. Some of them have the perfect cradle-to-cradle lifecycle: they can be used again and again to produce the same goods. Some plastics can be reused just as they are by shredding an object into flakes, melting it, and reusing.<\/p>\n Such recycled plastics may have lower mechanical properties compared to virgin plastics, because each time you melt and process a plastic, the polymeric chains degrade. But these properties can be recovered by mixing it to additives or virgin plastic. Examples of successful industrial recycling include PET \u2013 poly(ethylene therephtalate), which is used to make soft drinks bottles, and polystyrene.<\/p>\n All of the rest can technically be reprocessed into new materials for different applications. In the final instance, any plastic waste can be shredded and used as filler for asphalt, or be pyrolysed to produce fuel. The Japanese company Blest Corporation already sells a portable machine<\/a> to convert domestic plastic waste into fuel in a simple, affordable way.<\/p>\n The problem is that recycling much of this plastic waste is currently unfeasible and unprofitable. Polymers such as rubbers, elastomers, thermosets and mixed plastic waste are comfortably labelled as \u201cunrecyclable\u201d by the recycling sector. But the amount of these materials all over the world is frighteningly large<\/a> and keeps on growing. What if this plastic waste could be used to produce something useful to society?<\/p>\n Many universities and entrepreneurs are attempting to do this. Most solutions target mixed plastic waste and suggest applications different from the original ones. For example, several groups<\/a> have developed building materials<\/a> made of plastic waste<\/a>.<\/p>\n