Carpet recycling may become more efficient after a scientific breakthrough has emerged that could mean the same plastic may be re-used more than once.
A team from computer firm IBM and Stanford University has found a new method of breaking down plastic that means it can be used in the same way as before.
While this could mean the material in a plastic drinks bottle being used again for the same purpose many times instead of ending up in a landfill, the same might be true of plastic fibres used in a synthetic carpet.
Up to now, recycling has only meant that plastic can be used for a second time before being thrown away.
The news may turn out to be the second leap forward for carpet recycling this week.
Experts at the University of York have found a way of creating a waterproof starch-based adhesive, which unlike latex glues can be removed from old carpet, making it possible for the old material to be re-used.
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