Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emission plastics by a circular carbon economy

Reducing net emission The great majority of plastics in current use are sourced from fossil fuels, with additional fossil fuels combusted to power their manufacture. Substantial research is focused on finding more sustainable building blocks for next-generation polymers. Meys et al . report a series of life cycle analyses suggesting that even the current varieties of commercial monomers could potentially be manufactured and polymerized with no net greenhouse gas emissions. The cycle relies on combining recycling of plastic waste with chemical reduction of carbon dioxide captured from incineration or derived from biomass. —JSY