Conard Holton

Conard Holton is a contributing correspondent for Environmental Health Perspectives, a journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. In the following viewpoint, Holton describes a new selective dissolution technology that will help make plastics easier to recycle. He claims that conventional recycling centers use plastics sorting procedures that are labor-intensive and expensive. In contrast, selective dissolution technology enables workers to melt all types of plastic into one solution, then apply heat in order to separate out the six plastic types, each of which dissolves at a different temperature.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Holton, what kinds of problems are created when plastics are landfilled?
2. What reasons does Jerry Lynch give to explain why recycling is a tough business, as related by the author?
3. As reported by Holton, what...