Could Chemical Recycling Help Solve Plastic Trash Problem?

Only 9 percent of plastic material in the U.S. gets recovered and put into new products. But several companies are developing ways to chemically break down plastic to its basic building blocks, called monomers.

If they get it right, the environmental implications could be seismic, making it possible for all plastics to be used and reused in an infinitely recyclable loop.

“The advantage with chemical recycling is you end up with a pure liquid monomer, which can be put directly back into the production process,” Andreas Anker, a spokesman for LyondellBasell Industries NV, tells Bloomberg Environment. ...