Eli5 why we can’t melt plastic down and use it to add to asphalt

Question

I keep reading about how most plastic can’t be recycled and goes to the landfills instead.

With our technology, why can’t we melt it down, using some sort of scrubbers/filters to capture the emissions, and add it to asphalt or other industrial uses?

At the very least it seems like we could reuse that plastic for non food items that are typically used once and tossed.

In: 9

Answer 1

There are some pilot projects attempting this, but not all plastics are equal and a lot are really one-use only. Part of the problem is that many plastics are only completely forming while they are being made and once they are hardened, you cannot do anything else with them.

You also have to consider that many plastics were designed around making materials that were resilient, if not impervious to environmental influences. Hence why getting rid of them is such a bitch.