Georgia Tech researcher finds new way to recycle plastic, thanks to seashells

Very little of the plastic that consumers recycle actually ends up back in circulation. A researcher at Georgia Tech is hoping a new method of construction will give recycled plastic a second life.

Around 10% of the 350 million tons of plastic we use annually is effectively recycled.

That prompted aerospace engineering professor Christos Athanasiou to look to the molecular structure of a seashell for inspiration.

“We have bricks, and then we have mortar," he said. "And we put them together and we can have a robust structure.”

That strong structure will allow future manufacturers to reuse single-use plastics, like the cling wrap used to secure pallets, to create durable construction materials like flooring.

But Athanasiou said it will take time to figure out how to make the material at scale.