From The Royal Institution.
Plastics create a messy problem in recycling. But is eliminating single-use plastic enough to solve it?
This lecture was filmed on Monday 14 October 2024 in partnership with the Henry Royce Institute.
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Join polymer scientist and sustainable development expert Mike Shaver as he explores the complex nature of our plastic environment, including the interdependency of plastics on our goals for lowering our carbon footprint and increasing our expected lifespan. Mike highlights the importance of authenticity – both in terms of technical challenges in qualifying and quantifying recycled material, and in avoiding greenwashing.
Find out about the work of Mike’s research project “One bin to rule them all”, and how polymer chemistry can shape a new sustainable future by developing interdisciplinary solutions that work across the supply chain. The group aims to develop systemic approaches to improving sustainable fates, from reuse to enzymatic, chemical and mechanical recycling, and explore the opportunities and risks of new monomers for degradable polymers. Learn more here: https://www.sustainablefutures.manchester.ac.uk/research/case-studies/one_bin_to_rule_them_all/
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Professor Michael Shaver is the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Sustainable Automotive Plastics and a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. His career has been built on collaboration in his native Canada (Mount Allison University, University of British Columbia, University of Prince Edward Island) and his adopted UK home (Imperial College London, University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester). In Manchester, he is Director of the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub and Director of Sustainable Futures, both at the University of Manchester, where he leads initiatives in sustainable polymers and champions strategic, interdisciplinary, sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.
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