10 Innovative Tech Solutions To Help Curb Plastic Pollution

A modern life without plastic would be quite unimaginable. I mean, plastic is everywhere: the packaging materials, bottles and cups and toys; the automobile parts, ships, trains, satellites and space stations; or even glasses, watches and your smartphone that use plastic components.

It¡¯s become so ubiquitous that some have characterized the current stage of human history as the ¡°Plastics Age.¡±

Plastics Pollution | Unsplash

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But this love for plastic is rather reasonable. You see, plastics are lightweight, durable, cheap and can be molded, laminated or shaped as you wish. There is a plastic suitable for almost any application -- and in some cases, it even outperforms other materials. And because many plastics are durable and don't corrode, they create considerable disposal problems.

The burgeoning crisis

According to a global material study, a total of 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic was produced between 1950 to 2015, out of which over 79 per cent is now waste, accumulating in either landfill or the natural environment. Only 9 per cent of plastic waste ever produced has been recycled.

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According to the latest Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report, India¡¯s total annual plastic waste generation stands at 3.3 million metric tonnes. Richer states like Goa and Delhi face a much larger problem: they produce as much as 60 grams and 37 grams per capita per day respectively against a national average of 8 grams per capita per day.

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This overwhelming volume of non-biodegradable plastics is harming the environment and human health. It contaminates the land when dumped in landfills; pollutes the air when incinerated -- a process that also requires a lot of energy; contaminates water bodies and threatens marine life when it runs off to water bodies. In fact, researchers have captured sobering images of a plastic bag about 11 kilometres deep inside the Mariana Trench, the deepest known oceanic trench on Earth.

Eliminating the plastic pandemic

The seriousness of the plastic threat is well-recognized by now and several interventions have been made to contain, reduce, and eliminate plastic pollution. For example, Amazon and Flipkart -- two of the largest e-commerce businesses in India -- have replaced all single-use plastic in its packaging with paper cushions following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he urged Indians to put an end to usage of single-use plastic by 2022.

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Innovative tech solutions can help contain this plastic pandemic in a more holistic manner: to replace some plastics by natural substitutes; reduce the demand for new plastics; disposal of plastic-based goods; and collection and disposal of plastic waste.

1. Using nanotechnology for smart packaging

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Cardboard, paper and other biodegradable products have long been used in packaging of materials and one can coat cardboard with new water-resistant materials to prevent leaks as well as protect it from water splashes and rain. Nanotechnology allows such coatings to be made thinner and more cost effective.

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The technology also allows the use of antimicrobial nano-materials directly on perishable products to protect them from spoilage. Finnish paper and wood products company Koktamills, for example, used nanotechnology to develop a new coating for paper cups that is completely recyclable and repulpable -- different from those covered with a thin layer of plastic that¡¯s a disaster for recycling companies.

2. Genetic engineering of natural products

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Single-use plastics, such as polythene bags and straws, are meant to be thrown out immediately after use. At least in cities, they are only given out upon request to discourage its use. But the problem is deep-rooted and requires alternatives to cater to this consumption economy.

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Genetic engineering is helping many natural fibers, such as hemp, flax and jute to acquire properties that can expand their use from being used as fabrics, textiles, and currency to become better substitutes for plastics. Innovations with flax include Flaxstic -- a combination of flax straw waste, plant-based biopolymers and recycled materials -- and ¡®jute soy¡¯ made from jute fiber cellulose and soy resin protein.

3. Making lightweight aluminium and steel

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Researchers at Purdue University in the US have used nanotechnology to create a super-strong aluminum alloy by altering the microstructure of aluminum. This high-strength, lightweight aluminum alloys with strength comparable to stainless steels would revolutionize the automobile and aerospace industries. Unlike plastics, they can also be easily reused and recycled into aluminium bottles and cups as well as metal foils for packaging and wrapping purposes.

4. Chemical recycling

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If the first-best solution to fighting this plastic pandemic is finding natural substitutes, the second step involves making plastics biodegradable and to achieve it in a sustainable and economic way at scale. Mechanical recycling involves sorting, melting and remoulding plastics into lower-grade plastic products. But this process is limited in nature as the performance properties of plastics degrade with every recycle.

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Chemical recycling breaks the plastic down at a molecular level, therefore, allowing the plastics to be recycled into useful materials. Some plastics, such as polyolefins -- the material in a polythene bag -- are burnt at high temperatures using a thermal degradation process called ¡®Pyrolysis¡¯ to typically produce fuels and waxes.

5. Using bio-based biodegradable polymers

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Polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer produced from lactic acid derived from sugar beets, sugar cane and corn. It¡¯s commonly used in packaging industries, textiles, electronics, 3D printing and biomedical applications, thanks to its durability and low toxicity.

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A company based in the Netherlands has successfully made PLA bioplastic resins from second generation feedstocks to relieve pressure from food crops. However, their production costs are high, ranging from $2.6 to $5.5 per kilogram, and thus requires government support during its infancy.

6. Using nano-cellulose for biodegradation

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Over 500 billion polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles are consumed globally every year, and much of it ends as waste in landfills. Green Science Alliance, a Japanese research group striving to innovate bioplastic, has produced a bottle made completely out of a biobased composite material called nanocellulose.

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This is derived from natural biomass resources such as trees and plants and is inexpensive, recyclable and biodegradable. It also has the potential to be used in several areas, including paper, packaging, coating, medical and pharmaceutical applications. Transparent nanocellulose paper can revolutionise the electronics industry since its cost-efficient, light-weight, biodegradable, recyclable and possesses desired optical properties.

7. Using catalysis to biodegrade PET plastic

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) is widely used to produce plastic packaging, yet only about 15 per cent makes its way to recycling plants. The inadequate infrastructure to collect and sort through discarded plastic remains a challenge. Ioniqa, a start-up in the Netherlands, has developed a technology that uses a patented magnetic catalyst to break PET plastic down to molecular level. Unilever has collaborated with the startup to fulfill its promise of making all their plastics packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

8. Recyclable plastic packaging

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The toothpaste tubes currently available in the market are made from sheets of plastic laminate sandwiched around a thin layer of aluminum, making them difficult to recycle via conventional methods. Colgate has come up with a new recyclable tube made with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), the ¡°No. 2¡± plastic used to make milk jugs and other plastic bottles.

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The company also showed that the tube material could be reused to make new plastic bottles. While the HDPE plastic isn¡¯t biodegradable, it can be recycled about 10 times. As the plastic bottles or containers have a service life of around 10 to 20 years, the same plastic can be sustained for around 100 to 200 years.

9. Using satellites to observe ocean plastics

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The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit organization, is designing and developing cleanup systems to clean up what is already polluting our oceans and to intercept plastic on its way to the ocean via rivers. The company is using satellite imaging and machine learning to help clean up and capture the 5 trillion pieces of plastic trash they have observed in the world¡¯s ¡°ocean garbage patches.¡±

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They estimate that within 5 years they could collect 50% of the 1.8 trillion plastic pieces floating in the ¡°Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP)¡± -- the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world.

10. Blockchain-based reward system

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The Plastic Bank, a grassroots organisation, offers Blockchain secured digital tokens for the exchange of recycled plastics. They aim to revolutionise the world¡¯s recycling systems to create a regenerative, inclusive, and circular plastic economy by setting up recycling systems in economically disadvantaged parts of the world. The company uses a security-rich, scalable reward system¡ªa blockchain banking platform¡ªruns on the IBM Cloud and promises to transform anyone with a phone into a recycling opportunity.