At the same time, lubricants such as engine oil are environmentally costly to produce and are in growing demand. By converting discarded PVC into a key lubricant ingredient, the Liu lab's process offers a potential way to reduce plastic waste while creating a high-value product. The Liu lab has developed an effective process to possibly reverse an already alarming plastics pollution problem. “Number one, we have proved that it is feasible to use plastic waste to make high-performance lubricants. “We want to help improve the recycling and upcycling of PVC,” Liu said.