Why sort plastic when you can blast it to oblivion? Sounds extreme, but that’s the idea behind a new technology with the potential to “realize the era of zero plastic sorting”—while minimizing carbon emissions, too.

In a press release today, the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMMS) announced the development of a plasma torch that annihilates plastic waste in less than 0.01 seconds—about ten times faster than a blink . The torch is entirely powered by hydrogen and converts mixed plastic waste into ethylene and benzene, two primary chemical ingredients for plastic. The process is relatively inexpensive and virtually carbon-free; if implemented, it could revolutionize plastic recycling, according to the researchers.

“In a world first, we have secured a process to successfull

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