ARGYLE — The Argyle Public Library will host a program about new technologies for recycling plastic waste at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the library, 401 E. Milwaukee Street. Houqian Li will be the guest speaker.

The Center for Upcycling of Waste Plastics is developing the scientific, engineering, and economic information that will enable the chemical recycling of waste plastics. CUWP involves 23 industrial partners, one national laboratory and five universities throughout North America. 

They are developing a technology that uses solvents to selectively target recovery and precipitate (STRAP) targeted plastics from multi layer plastic or plastic mixtures. In general terms, STRAP “washes” multi-layered films several times with solvents to separate the multiple components mixed in plastic films into single components, known as resins. These resins can then be reused to make more of the product from which they originated, or they can be used to manufacture products with higher value or quality (known as upcycling).

This talk is brought by U.S. Badger Talks and is part of the Wisconsin Science Festival.