3 ms·

I think so, yes.

• PaulHoule 2y ago
  All schemes for chemical plastic recycling are challenged by the fact that plastic monomers and other chemicals you might get from breaking down plastics (say in a disordered process such as pyrolysis) are worth about 50 cents a pound. You cannot afford $50 of enzymes to make 50 cents of product but it's likely to be like that. Chemical recycling of polystyrene has been technically practical since the 1970s but the cost of bringing all that bulky styrofoam to one place defeats the economics. Landfill disposal is a few cents per pound, any subsidy has to be huge to move the needle.