Watch: Colorado State University Chemists Develop Recyclable Plastic

Four Colorado State University chemists have developed a new polymer that can be used to make plastic. This new polymer is lightweight, heat-resistant, strong, and durable, meaning it has all the features that make plastics valuable and desirable. What’s amazing about this new polymer is that it can be broken down to its starting monomers and then infinitely recycled without intensive procedures in a laboratory or using toxic chemicals.

CSU Ventures, an affiliate of CSU dedicated to transferring and commercializing technology developed at CSU, has provided seed money to fine-tune the synthesis process and make it more cost-effective. Plastic pollution has become a major environmental threat, with over 90 percent ending up in landfills, waterways, or the ocean. This new polymer is a major step toward creating waste-free, sustainable materials that could one day compete with conventional plastics.