A groundbreaking chemical process developed at the University of California, Berkeley, could transform plastic waste into valuable hydrocarbon building blocks for creating new plastics. This innovative approach holds promise for addressing the growing environmental impact of plastic waste and offers a potential path toward a circular economy for plastics. The process is designed to degrade two of the most common types of post-consumer plastic waste: polyethylene and polypropylene. Polyethylene is widely used in single-use plastic bags, while polypropylene is found in products such as microwava…