Apr 23, 2021 03:22 PM EDT
Plastics are a part of almost every product we make use of daily. The average person in the U.S. produces about 100 kg of plastic waste every year, most of which goes directly to a landfill. A team headed by Jay Keasling, Brett Helms, Kristin Persson, and Corinne Scown at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) developed a plastic known as Polydiketoenamine, which can help solve the waste crisis.
(Photo : Getty Images)
Poly(diketoenamine) or PDK
Not more than two years ago, Helms made known the invention of a new plastic that could solve the problem of the waste crisis directly. Known as poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material possesses all the appropriate properties of traditional plastics while preventing environmental hazards, because, PDKs can be reprocessed indefinitely with no loss in value, unlike traditional plastics.
Environmental News Network - The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic enn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from enn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit: (Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab)
Plastics are a part of nearly every product we use on a daily basis. The average person in the U.S. generates about 100 kg of plastic waste per year, most of which goes straight to a landfill. A team led by Corinne Scown, Brett Helms, Jay Keasling, and Kristin Persson at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) set out to change that.
Less than two years ago, Helms announced the invention of a new plastic that could tackle the waste crisis head on. Called poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material has all the convenient properties of traditional plastics while avoiding the environmental pitfalls, because unlike traditional plastics, PDKs can be recycled indefinitely with no loss in quality.
Date Time
Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Only about 2% of plastics are fully recycled currently. PDK plastics could solve the single-use crisis. (Chanchai Phetdikhai/Shutterstock)
Plastics are a part of nearly every product we use on a daily basis. The average person in the U.S. generates about 100 kg of plastic waste per year, most of which goes straight to a landfill. A team led by Corinne Scown, Brett Helms, Jay Keasling, and Kristin Persson at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) set out to change that.
Less than two years ago, Helms announced the invention of a new plastic that could tackle the waste crisis head on. Called poly(diketoenamine), or PDK, the material has all the convenient properties of traditional plastics while avoiding the environmental pitfalls, because unlike traditional plastics, PDKs can be recycled indefinitely with no loss in quality.