What are we doing with our plastics? Throwing them in landfills and the oceans mostly is what it seems which isn’t the greatest solution for the waste problem that we have in modern life which is why we recycle. One group of scientists have pioneered a better way to recycle PET plastic waste into aerogels.
Aerogels are porous but solid materials that can be used in a variety of applications. There are lots of cool photos of them on the internet. The process of recycling that the researchers from the National University of Singapore have created makes use of existing plastic waste to create this material which can then be used for all kinds of things.
Lighter firefighter suits, filters in masks, building insulation, etc. Not necessarily things that you can see but things that are really handy. Check out the website for more information.