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/
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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.

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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

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u/65crazycats Feb 20 '21

The other challenge is that plastics made of fossil fuels have costs that are kept artificially low so everything else that competes with that market is more costly to make. Big Oil doesn't want competition and neither does Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Dow, Target, etc... Until the folks responsible for making the plastic and its proliferation are responsible for the cost of its damage (rather than passing the buck to us consumers) they aren't going to be inclined to make any changes.