“By 2050, plastic will outweigh fish in the oceans, according to a study presented at this year’s World Economic Forum by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.” A well-backed UK startup hopes to reverse the trend with a machine that can turn plastic into oil. The “machine, about the size of a tennis court, churns all sorts of petroleum-based products — cling wrap, polyester clothing, carpets, electronics — back into oil. It takes less than a second and the resulting fuel, called Plaxx, can be used to make plastic again or power ship engines.”

+ The Economist: Plastic-eating caterpillars could save the planet. (Instead of butterflies, these caterpillars turn into frisbees.)