Globally, only 9% of plastics are recycled, and because of polymer degradation and mixed waste streams, their properties decline with each reuse cycle (1). Thermosets, a widely used class of plastics that maintain a permanent shape upon curing, are not recycled at all (2). In closed-loop recycling, a polymer can be processed into a new material without sacrificing properties, retaining the value of the virgin material (3). Under this efficient recycling regime, both global plastic production and waste would decrease. Although innovative technologies have been developed toward this goal, chemical methods for recycling thermosets remain elusive. On page 177 of this issue, Wu et al. (4) report a powerful strategy for accessing thermosets from entirely bio-based building blocks. These thermosets not only have outstanding physical properties, they can also be easily recycled. This work represents a pivotal step toward lessening the environmental impact of an important class of materials.

中文翻译：

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关闭热固性塑料回收循环

在全球范围内，只有 9% 的塑料被回收利用，并且由于聚合物降解和混合废物流，它们的性能随着每个再利用周期而下降 ( 1 )。热固性塑料是一类广泛使用的塑料，在固化后可保持永久形状，根本不会回收 ( 2 )。在闭环回收中，聚合物可以在不牺牲性能的情况下加工成新材料，保留原始材料的价值 ( 3 )。在这种有效的回收制度下，全球塑料产量和废物都会减少。尽管已经朝着这一目标开发了创新技术，但回收热固性材料的化学方法仍然难以实现。在本期第 177 页，Wu等人。 ( 4 ) 报告了一种从完全生物基构件中获取热固性材料的强大策略。这些热固性材料不仅具有出色的物理性能，而且还可以轻松回收。这项工作代表了减少一类重要材料对环境影响的关键一步。