LAUSR

Designing plastics for assembly and disassembly is essential to closing the resource loop The visual nature of plastic pollution and the scandals of plastic waste exports to developing countries have prompted a shift in how plastics are made, used, and disposed. Plastic waste remains poorly managed, with as much as 12,000 million tonnes projected to have accumulated in landfills or the natural environment by 2050 (1). Although mechanical recycling was initially promoted as the solution to rising amounts of postconsumer plastic waste, its failure over the past decades has exposed the severity and scale of the plastic waste management crisis. In light of this, the recovery of plastics through chemical recycling—polymer recycling into their constituting repeat units or monomers (and oligomers)—and the development of bio-based and biodegradable alternatives have gained increasing attention. We consider the technical, chemical, and biological routes to closing the loop and argue for an integrated plastic waste management system rooted in the circular bioeconomy.