Plastic Resins for the Circular Economy: from Wind Turbines to Gummy Bear Candy and Beyond.

Plastics and composites have concerning sustainability metrics including high embedded energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions, low recyclability rates, and generation of microplastics pollution. Composites are notoriously difficult to recycle but are critical for wind turbine, lightweight vehicle, and other sustainable technologies. An economically viable, fully recyclable, composite resin is demonstrated; physical properties of composites produced from the reclaimed resin show true “turbine-to-turbine” recycling is possible. Various end-of-use options are established; regrinding produces short fiber moldable materials. Base catalyzed digestion produces poly(methyl methacrylate) or the superabsorbent poly(methacrylic acid). Distillation of the digestate produces methanol, water, and food grade potassium lactate; the resulting lactate has been incorporated into gummy bear candies. Judicious formulation of polymer resins enables complete circularity in low-embedded energy materials; exploitation of triggerable degradation provides varied and intriguing end-of-use recycling options.