Plastic products have been propelling our quality of life forward for over a century, but they’ve also created a waste problem of gargantuan proportions. An interesting yet controversial approach called “chemical recycling” converts the waste into new products by breaking the plastics down at the molecular level. Only a handful of chemical recycling facilities operate in the United States, but plans for one are brewing in Newaygo, Michigan. What are the benefits of chemical recycling? Why Michigan? U-M professor of chemistry Anne McNeil and her co-authors tackle these questions and more in a piece for The Conversation.
