Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Mon, 27 September 2021
Trucks deal with a mountain of rubbish in Bangkok - but could a new recycling method offer hope? (Getty)
Every person will discard two metric tonnes of plastic in their lifetime.
But a study has suggested a new way to deal with plastic waste.
The Swiss research suggests a proof-of-concept idea of a new approach to plastic recycling – inspired by the way nature 'recycles' the components of organic polymers present in our environment.
Proteins inside organic polymers are constantly broken down into parts and reassembled into different proteins.
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) believe that this approach could work with plastics too.
Researcher Simone Gavieri wrote: "A protein is like a string of pearls, where each pearl is an amino acid. Each pearl has a different colour, and the colour-sequence determines the string structure and consequently its properties.
"In nature, protein chains break up into the constituent amino acids and cells put such amino acids back together to form new proteins, that is they create new strings of pearls with a different colour sequence."
Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless
Professor Francesco Stellacci, of EPFL, said: "We selected proteins and divided them up into amino acids. We then put the amino acids into a cell-free biological system that assembled the amino acids back into new proteins with entirely different structures and applications."
Giaveri and Stellacci successfully transformed silk into a protein used in biomedical technology.
Stellacci said: "Importantly, when you break down and assemble proteins in this way, the quality of the proteins produced is exactly the same of that of a newly-synthesised protein. Indeed, you are building something new."
Stellacci said it would take time to develop a working method to recycle plastic in this way.
Read more: A 1988 warning about climate change was mostly right
He added: "It will require a radically different mindset. Polymers are strings of pearls, but synthetic polymers are made mostly of pearls all of the same colour and when the colour is different the sequence of colour rarely matters.
"Furthermore, we have no efficient way to assemble synthetic polymers from different colour pearls in a way that controls their sequence."
Research this year found that thousands of rivers, including smaller ones, are responsible for most of the plastic pollution worldwide.
Previously, scientists believed that 10 large rivers – such as the Yangtze in China – were responsible for the bulk of plastic pollution.
Read more: Melting snow in Himalayas drives growth of green sea slime visible from space
In fact, 1,000 rivers – just 1% of all rivers worldwide – carry most of the plastic to the sea.
The research means that areas like tropical islands are likely to be among the worst polluters, the researchers said.
The study by non-profit organisation The Ocean Cleanup used measurements and modelling to work out that 1,000 rivers worldwide are behind 80% of plastic emissions.
90-Year-Old Fisherman Collects Plastic Pollution From the Ocean for Two Decades
By Claudicet Pena on September 26, 2021
By looking at Wayan Nyo’s eyes and the wrinkles in his face, you can tell almost immediately that he has an interesting story to share. He is a 90-year-old fisherman who lives in Indonesia and is part of a beautiful culture that is extremely passionate about protecting the ocean.
Throughout his childhood and the decades that followed, Nyo spent his most of his life on the waters. Each day, he would gather his nets and mesh sacks to set his small boat on the coast of Bali. There he would listen to the waves, read the weather, track fish, and learn the rhythm of the ocean currents. The turquoise waters used to be a prime location for fishing; however, for the past 21 years, the fisherman has devoted his life to collecting what feels like a never-ending amount of plastic pollution from the ocea
San Francisco-based director Dana Frankoff decided to document Nyo's cause in a short film titled Voice Above Water. The documentary gives voice to the story of how one human is using his resources to make a difference. The film depicts the journey of one man who turned his trade of fishing into one of cleaning the ocean so that future generations to come will once again be able to fish and feed their families and community.
The short yet powerful film has won a comprehensive list of several awards so far, including the recent First Time Film at the 2021 International Ocean Film Festival and Best Short Documentary at the 2021 San Luis Obispo Film Festival. Frankoff, who is just as passionate about marine conservation and promoting sustainable changes in the world, says that Wayan’s story is a “reminder that if we all play our part we can accomplish something much greater than ourselves.” The fisherman and his commitment to combating water pollution in Indonesia is undoubtedly inspiring.
Watch the trailer for Voice Above Water, a short documentary about a 90-year-old man who turned his trade of fishing into one of cleaning up ocean pollution.
By Claudicet Pena on September 26, 2021
By looking at Wayan Nyo’s eyes and the wrinkles in his face, you can tell almost immediately that he has an interesting story to share. He is a 90-year-old fisherman who lives in Indonesia and is part of a beautiful culture that is extremely passionate about protecting the ocean.
Throughout his childhood and the decades that followed, Nyo spent his most of his life on the waters. Each day, he would gather his nets and mesh sacks to set his small boat on the coast of Bali. There he would listen to the waves, read the weather, track fish, and learn the rhythm of the ocean currents. The turquoise waters used to be a prime location for fishing; however, for the past 21 years, the fisherman has devoted his life to collecting what feels like a never-ending amount of plastic pollution from the ocea
San Francisco-based director Dana Frankoff decided to document Nyo's cause in a short film titled Voice Above Water. The documentary gives voice to the story of how one human is using his resources to make a difference. The film depicts the journey of one man who turned his trade of fishing into one of cleaning the ocean so that future generations to come will once again be able to fish and feed their families and community.
The short yet powerful film has won a comprehensive list of several awards so far, including the recent First Time Film at the 2021 International Ocean Film Festival and Best Short Documentary at the 2021 San Luis Obispo Film Festival. Frankoff, who is just as passionate about marine conservation and promoting sustainable changes in the world, says that Wayan’s story is a “reminder that if we all play our part we can accomplish something much greater than ourselves.” The fisherman and his commitment to combating water pollution in Indonesia is undoubtedly inspiring.
Watch the trailer for Voice Above Water, a short documentary about a 90-year-old man who turned his trade of fishing into one of cleaning up ocean pollution.
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