r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Feb 20 '21

Chemistry Chemists developed two sustainable plastic alternatives to polyethylene, derived from plants, that can be recycled with a recovery rate of more than 96%, as low-waste, environmentally friendly replacements to conventional fossil fuel-based plastics. (Nature, 17 Feb)

https://academictimes.com/new-plant-based-plastics-can-be-chemically-recycled-with-near-perfect-efficiency/
72.0k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

4.9k

u/ThePotMonster Feb 20 '21

I feel I've seen these plant based plastics come up a few times in the last couple decades but they never seem to get any traction.

2.8k

u/hamhead Feb 20 '21

They’re used in a number of things but they can’t replace all types of plastic and, of course, cost

1

u/aaziz99 Feb 20 '21

Oh yes, cost, the made up magic number that determines what we do or don’t do, no reason as to why we shouldn’t be using these sustainable plastics as much as we can