Recycling of Polyurethanes, the first volume in the Advances in Plastics Recycling series, is focused on the physical and chemical recycling of polyurethanes, with attention given to energy conversion. A compilation of the present ongoing studies on recycling of urethane and, in general, isocyanate-based polymers, the focus is on thermosetting urethane polymers.

Recycling of industrial thermoplastic waste is practiced throughout the plastics industry, although it has certain limitations with regard to the number of recycles and the type of plastic. The recycling of thermosets presents a different problem since they cannot be reprocessed in general by conventional melting processes such as extrusion or injection molding. However, today even thermosets such as polyurethanes have been successfully recycled by both chemical and physical processes.