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Designing new ways to recycle plastics
A team of researchers at the University of Oklahoma, under the direction of Dr. Steven Crossley, are designing entirely new recycling methods that have the potential to revolutionize which plastics can be recycled and what they can be made into. Plastics, also called polymers, have enabled revolutionary changes to society, from enhancing safe medical care, to food storage, to everyday conveniences from your toothbrush to your TV. But the properties that make plastic advantageous, namely that it is cheap and sturdy, also pose challenges for how to dispose or repurpose plastics to keep them from entering the environment.
Credit: National Science Foundation
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