The “holy grail” of plastic – a material that can be repeatedly recycled without any loss of quality – has been created by scientists.

Placed in an acid bath, it can be fully broken down into its component parts.

Like lego, these monomers can then be reassembled into different shapes, colours and textures, according to the scientists at California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who created it.

Currently, less than a third of recyclable plastic is re-purposed to create new materials, leaving the majority of it to end up in landfill or the ocean.

“Most plastics were never made to be recycled,” said Peter Christensen, a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry and lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Chemistry. “But we have discovered a new way to assemble plastics that takes recycling into consideration from a molecular perspective.”

In the UK the average person produces 34.5kg of plastic packaging waste each year (Statista)

The new material called poly (diketoenamine) or PDK can, unlike normal plastics, have its monomers separated by dunking the material in a highly acidic solution.

The acid breaks the bonds between monomers and separates them from additives that give the plastic its distinctive look and feel.

These monomers can be recovered for reuse for as long as possible, or “upcycled” to make another product.

Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Show all 11 1 /11 Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Plastic as far as the eye can see Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Plastic cutlery floats in the sea Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas An underwater view of the rubbish that sits on the top of the ocean Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas The plastic pollution is only getting worse in the ocean Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Plastic pollution in the sea looks like a pathway through the ocean Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Underwater view of a plastic bag in the sea Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Plastic floating in the sea Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Sea level view of the plastic pollution Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas A collection of plastic spreads across the sea Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Another view from in the ocean of the plastic floating Caroline Power Photography Vast sea of plastic and pollution in the Caribbean: in pictures Plastic pollution plaguing our seas Large quantities of trash gather in the sea Caroline Power Photography

“We’re interested in the chemistry that redirects plastic lifecycles from linear to circular. We see an opportunity to make a difference for where there are no recycling options,” said Brett Helms, a staff scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry.

Dr Helms added: “With PDKs, the immutable bonds of conventional plastics are replaced with reversible bonds that allow the plastic to be recycled more effectively.”

The research team believe their recyclable plastic could be an alternative to non-recyclable plastics in use today.

Their next plan is to develop PDK plastics with a range of properties used for different purposes, including textiles, 3D printing and foams.