I visited Cockatoo Island for Biennale a few weeks ago and there was an exhibition on the plastic from the ocean and the impact on the wild animals and our ecosystem. This exhibition prompted me to study more about the problem.
I spent a few mornings researching, and here is what I have learnt so far.
The increasing production vs. the low recycling rates
The global plastic production has been exponentially growing for decades. Plastics are very persistent — they are designed this way.
Australia, in 2017–2018, only recycled 10% of plastics. Other countries, especially the developing countries in Asia, have even lower recycling percentages because plastic recycling is often financially unviable.
The rest of the plastics are either discarded or incinerated, both creating a negative environmental and health impact.
Why is this a problem?
The mismanaged plastics could take 500 years to decompose. Some will flow into the ocean. These plastics absorb toxic chemicals and are often mistaken for food by sea creatures. An increasing number of wild animals are being killed by plastics. Scientists have estimated that with the current conditions, by 2050, 99% of the seabird will have ingested plastics. Unsurprisingly, the plastics contained in animals, along with the toxins, move up the food chain and also become our dinner.
Different types of solutions& Aussie startups & scientist working on this field
Reduce the single-use of plastics
Zero Co makes refillable personal care and home cleaning products, including handwash, laundry liquid, airfresher etc. They raised $742k from the kickstart campaign.
Improve recycling rate and efficiency
Founded by Usyd professor Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, Licella plays in the field of biofuels. The Cat-HTR™ chemical recycling technology creates recycled bio crude oil from waste plastic.
UNSW — Plastic to 3D printing filaments
UNSW Professor Veena Sahajwalla developed a way to turn discarded plastic into high-quality 3D printing filaments. A microfactory was built last year to value the solution and bring it to life.
Novel decomposition methods
I have not yet found any startups working on this space. CSIRO scientist Dr Albert Ardevol Grau has been working on developing enzymes for the biodegradation of polyethylene (PET) wastes into valuable monomers.
Create alternative products with different materials, including composable plastics
The process that Varden created will produce paper-like packaging product with similar attributes of plastics. The main raw material is sugar cane, one of the largest exported crops in Australia.
We need to move faster
I feel that I am just scratching the surface with my recent readings on plastics — many scientists founders, artists and writers have been discovering the field for a long time.
However, a large percentage of the problem still remains unsolved.
Can we do it better?
Can we do it faster?
If you are a scientist or a deep tech founder working on this problem, I would like to hear from you!
Reference:
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-plastics-production
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782.full
https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/the-lifecycle-of-plastics
Rochman, C., Hoh, E., Kurobe, T. et al. Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress. Sci Rep 3, 3263 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03263
https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=csiro:EP195506&dsid=DS4
