More plastics manufacturers are taking steps to help protect the environment by reducing plastics waste. More are pledging to make plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable. But there are technical challenges to meeting those goals, particularly for efforts to recycle small plastic products. A major hurdle is that today’s recycling infrastructure is not designed to effectively process smaller plastic items. Among those seeking solutions is Alexis Hocken, who graduated from ASU in 2021 after earning a chemical engineering degree through her studies in the Fulton Schools. Now in the chemical engineering doctoral program at MIT, Hocken is collaborating with manufacturers to achieve what could be a significant environmental sustainability achievement.