Plastic upcycling (IMAGE) DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Caption Plastic waste may one day be upcycled to useful commodity chemicals instead of ending up in the environment. Credit Image by Cortland Johnson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Usage Restrictions No restrictions. License Public Domain Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.