Could waste plastic become a useful fuel source?

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Plastic waste dumps, says slotProf Erwin Reisner, could be the oil fields of the future.

"Effectively, plastic is another form of fossil fuel," says Prof Reisner, who is professor of energy and sustainability at the University of Cambridge. "It's rich in energy and in chemical composition, which we want to unlock."

But the chemical bonds that make up plastics are made to last and, of the seven billion tonnes ever created, less than 10% has been recycled.

Dilyana Mihaylova, plastics programme manager for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, says: "Our extractive, take-make-waste economy [means] billions of dollars' worth of valuable materials are lost."

Worldwide, more than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year - roughly the same weight as all of humanity. Today, around 85% ends up in landfill or is lost to the environment where it will stay for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.