Energy Department partners with chemical group to keep plastic waste out of oceans

by Josh Siegel

February 03, 2020 09:00 AM

The Department of Energy is partnering with the American Chemistry Council to develop technologies to recycle plastic and keep waste out of rivers, oceans, and landfills.

The Energy Department will sign a memorandum of understanding on Monday afternoon with the chemical industry's trade group that enables them to collaborate on a number of projects.

These include creating technologies that collect plastic more easily once it has entered waterways, producing new plastics that are recyclable by design, and developing technologies that upcycle waste chemicals from plastic into other commercial products.

For example, the Energy Department cited the possibility of reclaiming material contained in the plastic of a water bottle and selling that to automakers for use in building vehicles.

“Through this partnership with the American Chemistry Council, the Department of Energy is furthering its mission to spur American innovation and leadership in energy efficient recycling technologies and the manufacture of new plastics that are recyclable by design to reduce plastic waste in our rivers, oceans, and landfills," said Mark W. Menezes, the Energy Department’s undersecretary of energy.

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