AUSTRALIA (CU)_ Plastic has sadly become a product most cannot go without, and with most of the general population’s general awareness of the down side of plastic use and with the frequent availability of plastic bags, bottles to just about anything in our homes it’s easy to understand why we cannot go without plastic. Green plastic which makes plastic from biodegradable products has long been touted as a possible solution for this pressing issue. The University of Queensland-led training center is set to be transformed into a leading global research center for green plastic.
The $13 million Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites hopes to pave the way for a future without plastic pollution. Centre director, Associate Professor Steven Pratt from the university’s School of Chemical Engineering stated that researchers will work on producing bio-derived and bio-degradable plastics that results in the lowest environmental impact and further stated that annually over 10 million tonnes of plastic leaks into oceans as part of the almost 400 million tonnes of plastic that’s destined for landfills.
Plastic pollution both on land and water is consumed by life on earth and in water and eventually makes its way into the food chain. Micro plastic particles also enter the soil adding to the pollution caused by plastic.
The training centre is a collaberation of The University of Queensland and The Queensland University of Technology, alongside the Queensland Government, Kimberly-Clark Australia, Plantic Technologies, Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, Minderoo Foundation and City of Gold Coast. Kimberly-Clark Australia Managing Director Belinda Driscoll stated that the firm had set an ambitious goal to halve its use of fossil fuel-based plastic in the next 8 years further stating that the partnership with the University of Queensland takes a vital step towards forming more sustainable products and reducing our environmental footprint.
