A while back we told you about research out of Washington State University that had found a way to efficiently convert used plastic bottles into jet fuel.

Well, here’s more research from the school: there’s now a way to convert plastic waste into jet fuel that takes only an hour.

via GIPHY

Here’s why that matters: of the huge amounts of plastic in the world, the vast majority of it is thrown out.

It either ends up in landfills, where it breaks down very slowly, or it ends up in places like the ocean, which can be harmful.

Part of this is because the process of recycling often requires lots of energy and time; it’s not necessarily cost effective.

And the methods we have to move things along more quickly can lead to a lower-quality plastic.

The new method uses a catalyst and a common solvent acting on plastic at a temperature around 428 degrees Fahrenheit.

After an hour, about 90 percent of the plastic was usable as components of jet fuel or other usable products.

That would make recycling plastic much more cost-effective, and potentially more common.

And like those old TV commercials for eyeglasses, it only takes about an hour!

It was today in 2017 that a high school in Fredericksburg, Virginia released its yearbook.

It had photos of most students, including AJ Schalk, who had a service dog with him in class.

Alpha the dog had lots of friends on campus and his own student ID, so, of course, they put the pup in the school yearbook too!

New technology converts waste plastics to jet fuel in an hour (Washington State University)

Teen’s Service Dog Gets Photo In Yearbook Because He’s A Very Good Boy (Huffington Post)

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Photo by Melinda Young Stuart via Flickr/Creative Commons