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Yes, a carbon-carbon bond is around 0.1-0.2nm. At these scales, these "plastics" are closer to monomers than polymers.

A 10-carbon chain with its hydrogens attached can hardly be called "polyethylene"; it is a higher alkane and behaves more like wax or mineral oil than what most people would call a plastic:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_alkanes

I wonder if the PE they are finding is actually https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_jelly



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