Apr 19, 2021 07:00 AM EDT
Scientists at Ames Laboratory s Institute for Cooperative Upcycling of Plastics (iCOUP) have discovered a chemical method that turns recycled plastics into biodegradable, use chemicals that can be used as surfactants and detergents in a variety of applications. Plastics may have more sustainable and cost-effective lifecycles as a result of this process.
(Photo : Magda Ehlers)
The researchers focused their efforts on deconstructing polyolefins, which account for more than half of all recycled plastics and are used virtually every product imaginable, including toys, food packaging, piping systems, water bottles, clothes, shoes, vehicles, and furniture. You might call plastics, especially polyolefins, too successful, said iCOUP Director Aaron Sadow. They are good for all of the applications that we need them for - solid, lightweight, thermally stable, chemically resistant - but the issue arises when we no longer use them.
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Tripura: Road Made With Non-recyclable Plastic Waste Inaugurated
Tripura:In what is being deemed as ‘first-of-its-kind initiative’, the state has come up with the idea of using non-recyclable plastic waste to construct road.
In what is being deemed as ‘first-of-its-kind initiative’ in Tripura, the state has come up with the idea of using non-recyclable plastic waste to construct roads. As per Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, this is being done to reduce plastic waste and make the environment plastic-free. ANI shared an image of the newly constructed road. A 680-metre road has been constructed using plastic waste, near Women s College, read the caption.
GreenBiz photocollage via Shutterstock
The COVID-19 pandemic, economic decline, inequality and race relations, and climate change have collectively moved the growing plastic waste crisis out of the priority inbox. To a degree, this is the inevitable consequence of limited political bandwidth to address multiple crises. Beyond the political realm, there are deep fault lines in how businesses, governments and non-government organizations have conceptualized and organized plastic waste solutions.
The global burden of plastic waste continues to escalate even to the point of requiring a redefinition of its sources and scale. Consider these facts:
The global burden of plastic waste continues to escalate even to the point of requiring a redefinition of its sources and scale.