Plastic often seems like public enemy number one – it’s targeted by individuals, corporations and governments to be recycled or reduced as much as possible. Yet it remains a complicated material that’s woven its way into society and our daily lives in a significant way. There are many different types of plastic in everyday use and different forms within one type. Simply seeking to reduce or recycle plastic as a whole does not take into account the intrinsic chemical differences between plastics – what may work well for one type of plastic, may not for another. The best examples that highlight these complexities are black plastic and polystyrene. Both are, in theory, 100 per cent recyclable, yet the majority still goes to landfill, our oceans or are incinerated.
Dark matter