Fixing the Plastic Industry with Sustainable Materials

Abstract

A combination of dwindling oil reserves and increasing pollution means that the plastic industry must be urgently transformed before it’s too late. The efforts of researchers, including Dr Jinwen Zhang and his colleagues at Washington State University, mean that solutions are becoming increasingly available. Through the development of malleable and self-healable plastics, created from both existing petrochemical and renewable chemical feedstocks, Dr Zhang’s team is creating stronger, more resilient plastics that can be easily recycled.