A company is marketing a microwave device that extracts oil and combustible gas from waste plastic and rubber, according to NewScientist:

All that is needed, claims Global Resource Corporation (GRC), is a finely tuned microwave and – hey presto! – a mix of materials that were made from oil can be reduced back to oil and combustible gas (and a few leftovers).

A new device using the process, the Hawk-10, seems to ouput more energy than it uses, according to the company:

Gershow Recycling, a scrap metal company based in New York, US, has just said it will be the first to buy a Hawk-10.

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GRC says its Hawk-10 can extract enough oil and gas from the left-over fluff to run the Hawk-10 itself and a number of other machines used by Gershow.

If this process works as advertised, it seems like a practical way to reduce landfill waste and maybe generate some extra oil and gas to boot. Of course, when I’ve melted plastic in my microwave, all I got is ruined leftovers.