The fascination with and enthusiasm for plastic is just as great as the list of problems, risks and studies associated with its use is long. Most types of plastic that we use every day are nearly non-degradable – but, as time goes by, they are degradated and are released into the environment and into the food chain. Currently, the only solution lies in recycling: the process which Professor Michael Braungart seeks to revolutionise. If he has his way about it, everything will have to be re-invented: every material used must be non-toxic, and the individual components of a product must be separable from each other. Only in this form can they be re-used as top-quality raw material or returned to the disposal cycle as a degradable substance.