Plastic remains one of the most-used materials for making many of the things we use in our everyday lives. Things made of plastic can be very strong and last a long time. They also do well in extreme heat and cold. Plastic is also much lighter than metal and can easily be formed into different shapes. This makes the material ideal for countless uses across many different industries. But the widespread use of plastics across the world is causing major problems for the environment. Plastic material is flooding landfills and causing severe damage in the world’s oceans. Plastics can take hundreds of years to break down on their own. Very few kinds are highly recyclable. This is because of the way plastics are formed. It has been estimated that even the most reusable kinds of plastic can only be recycled at a rate of 20 to 30 percent. Even when recycling is possible, the process is costly, can use a lot of energy and, in many cases, produces poor-quality materials. But a team of researchers working at the U.S. Department of Energy says it has created a kind of plastic that could lead to products that are 100 percent recyclable. The team works at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. It recently reported the discovery in a study in the journal Nature Chemistry.
Title: Scientists Create New Plastic that Could Be Fully Recyclable
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/9b86e6a9-43ec-472e-8f32-4c2061f7d424_hq.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Scientists Create New Plastic that Could Be Fully Recyclable' data-article-id='3849'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='11354'>Plastic remains one of the most-used materials for making many of the things we use in our everyday lives.</span> <span data-start-time='11354' data-end-time='19292'>Things made of plastic can be very strong and last a long time.</span> <span data-start-time='19292' data-end-time='24875'>They also do well in extreme heat and cold.</span> <span data-start-time='24875' data-end-time='33729'>Plastic is also much lighter than metal and can easily be formed into different shapes.</span> <span data-start-time='33729' data-end-time='43396'>This makes the material ideal for countless uses across many different industries.</span> <span data-start-time='43396' data-end-time='53938'>But the widespread use of plastics across the world is causing major problems for the environment.</span> <span data-start-time='53938' data-end-time='63667'>Plastic material is flooding landfills and causing severe damage in the world’s oceans.</span> <span data-start-time='63667' data-end-time='70729'>Plastics can take hundreds of years to break down on their own.</span> <span data-start-time='70729' data-end-time='75125'>Very few kinds are highly recyclable.</span> <span data-start-time='75125' data-end-time='80063'>This is because of the way plastics are formed.</span> <span data-start-time='80063' data-end-time='92604'>It has been estimated that even the most reusable kinds of plastic can only be recycled at a rate of 20 to 30 percent.</span> <span data-start-time='92604' data-end-time='106979'>Even when recycling is possible, the process is costly, can use a lot of energy and, in many cases, produces poor-quality materials.</span> <span data-start-time='106979' data-end-time='122958'>But a team of researchers working at the U.S. Department of Energy says it has created a kind of plastic that could lead to products that are 100 percent recyclable.</span> <span data-start-time='122958' data-end-time='132354'>The team works at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.</span> <span data-start-time='132354' data-end-time='140542'>It recently reported the discovery in a study in the journal Nature Chemistry.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/BE71169A-FBA7-419B-AAE4-B352C450054D_cx5_cy9_cw88_w1023_r1_s.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=12891 data-hint-location='75125' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/this_is_because_of_the_way__blank__are_formed.wav'>This is because of the way <span class='blank'>plastics</span> are formed.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='plastics'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/bikes.wav'><span>bikes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/metals.wav'><span>metals</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/plastics.wav'><span>plastics</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/pipes.wav'><span>pipes</span></div></div></div><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=12889 data-hint-location='33729' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/what_does_ideal_mean.wav'>What does ideal mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='perfect, of the best choice possible'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/a_grocery_bag.wav'><span>a grocery bag</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/perfect_of_the_best_choice_possible.wav'><span>perfect, of the best choice possible</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/paperwork.wav'><span>paperwork</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/presidential_responsibilities.wav'><span>presidential responsibilities</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=12890 data-hint-location='70729' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/very_few_kinds_are_highly_what.wav'>Very few kinds are highly what?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='recyclable'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/misunderstood.wav'><span>misunderstood</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/edible.wav'><span>edible</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/flammable.wav'><span>flammable</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3336/recyclable.wav'><span>recyclable</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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