They vote yes.
That night, the first test batch runs. A conveyor belt feeds shredded, multicolored carpet into a reactor. Steam hisses. Catalysts dance. Two hours later, a valve opens, and a clear, sweet-smelling liquid drips into a glass jar. eastman chemical company
Margaret’s protégé, a young engineer named Leo, stands before the board. “We’re building a methanolysis unit. It breaks down the polyester bonds at a molecular level. We don’t just melt the plastic—we un-cook it. We turn a stained bottle back into pure monomer.” They vote yes