皇家华人

A multi-disciplinary UCL team is seeking to 鈥榙esign out鈥� plastic waste by devising innovative new ways to reuse, recycle or compost plastic.

Designing-out Plastic Waste听has brought together a diverse team of UCL researchers interested in solving the plastic waste problem.鈥�听

The initial group, led by the Professor Mark Miodownik (UCL Institute of Making), includes a wide range of听UCL听experts,听from biochemical engineers and chemists to psychologists, economists and sustainability researchers.听

鈥淲e believe that waste is a failure of design,鈥澨齭ays听Professor Miodownik.听鈥淓ach design failure affects and compromises the whole system, leading to leakage of plastic into the environment, and creating an economic burden on the UK.鈥澨�

The project听is听identifying听changes in听design that will make it easier to recycle plastics that can be recycled, as well as developing novel technologies to recycle plastics that currently cannot.听听

鈥淔or example, plastic laminate films have been identified by the retail and manufacturing sector as fundamental to their business, but are currently problematic to recycle,鈥� explains听Professor Miodownik.听鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to听develop a new bacteria-based recycling technology that will consume plastics, breaking them down into reusable material.鈥澨�

The project is听also engaging with the public听as, Professor Miodownik argues,听鈥渨e听need to break down the barriers that prevent more people from reducing their use of plastic to recycling.鈥疶o do this we need to take the public with us听鈥撎齮hey buy plastic in the form of packaging and they are the ones who must put in the right bin.鈥�

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