Scientists Develop New Plastics That Can Be Recycled Continuously

Researchers at IBM and Stanford University say they have found a way to produce plastics that can be recycled continuously or used as higher-value products such as for the pharmaceutical industry. By using organic catalysts in the production of plastic polymers, rather than metal catalysts, the scientists say it is possible to produce a new class of plastics that will not degrade as quickly when recycled, according to a paper published in the journal Macromolecules. “If you use organic reactants, you can make certain types of new polymers that are quite different and have other properties plastics don’t have,” said Chandrasekhar Narayan, who leads the IBM science and technology team in San Jose, Calif. Researchers say these plastics can replace those that are difficult to recycle, such as polyethylene terephthatlate (PET), which is used in common products such as plastic beverage bottles. Currently, the 13 billion plastic bottles tossed away annually in the U.S. can not be reused as bottles, and are difficult to recycle. Narayan predicted that bottles using the new plastics could be recycled for use as automobile parts and that the new plastics could also be used to deliver drugs to treat cancer.