The Innovations in Plastics Industry is always changing and coming up with new ideas for recycled plastics and other things. Read on to learn about some of the new things that are happening Innovations in Plastics Industry right now We’ve added some interesting things that have happened in 2019 to our list, so check them out along with the other things that are sure to keep making waves in the industry.
Here are 10 Happening Innovations in Plastics Industry Right Now;
1. Bacteria Capable of Breaking Down Plastics
As reported recently in Asahi Shimbun, a bacterium called Ideonellasakaiensis, which was found in 2005, can eat 0.2 millimeters of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film in about a month.Since PET was thought to be non-biodegradable because it was made from petroleum, this discovery could have big effects on how plastics are recycled and thrown away in the future.At the moment, the bacteria are being studied to find out what conditions their enzymes need to break down the materials properly.
2. Food packaging made of bioplastics that break down over time
The exciting world of bioplastics has led to another interesting change. In a recent article on Phys.org, it was said that scientists at the Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania have made biodegradable plastic that can break down in a compost bin in two years. When this material is made public, it can be used to package goods for one-time use, replace plastic shopping bags and storage bags, and more.
One of the problems the scientists had to deal with was that the material they were working with, cellulose, had to be made clear or almost clear so it would look like plastic packaging. For these purposes, regular plastic is heated to make what is called fluid plastic. Cellulose, on the other hand, tends to burn when heated. Scientists were able to find the right mixtures to turn cellulose into a fluid plastic that was clear and safe for food.
3. Toothpaste tubes that can be recycled in full
Colgate is doing its part to help the green movement by making a toothpaste tube that can be recycled. It is the first tube of its kind to be recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers. Innovations in Plastics Industry Today says that most traditional toothpaste tubes can’t be recycled because they have a thin layer of aluminum on them.
This is because most of the tube is made of plastic. But this new tube is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a material that is often used to make plastic bottles. Colgate’s team had to try out different ways of layering and combining materials until they got the right flexibility for toothpaste tubes that can be squeezed.
4. Roads Made of Plastic
In exciting recycling news, the construction company VolkerWesser has made PlasticRoad, a lightweight road that can be built in a fraction of the time it takes to build a regular road and needs almost no maintenance. PlasticRoad is made from 100% recycled materials and is said to be “the ideal sustainable alternative to conventional road structures.”
It lasts three times as long as regular roads. Mashable recently published an article about this interesting new idea. They say that making roads out of plastic would be a great way to make them last longer because asphalt isn’t durable and causes over 1.6 million tons of carbon dioxide to be released into the air each year.
Also read: 7 Ways Recycled Plastic is Used in Construction
5. Tennis shoes made from trash found in the ocean
Even though making roads out of plastic is an interesting idea, why not wear plastic tennis shoes? Well, Adidas just said that they will be putting out a shoe made from recycled plastic from the ocean. The shoe is called the Ultra Boost Parley and is part of their Parley line. It was made with Parley for the Oceans. In 2016, Parley was able to clean up 740 tons of trash from the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. Adidas is now making shoes and even some shirts from this line’s waste.
Adidas said that by the end of 2017, at least one million tennis shoes will be made from trash found in the ocean. About 11 million plastic bottles have been put to good use.
6. Beauty packaging made from used plastic
Lush Cosmetics, a well-known beauty company known for its hand-made ingredients, has started putting its Black Pot packages in PCR PP packaging. “The Lush Black Pot is a 100% post-consumer polypropylene package with an injection-molded container and lid,” says Plastics Technology. The package is made with KWR621FDA and KWR621FDA-20 resins that have FDA letters of non-objection for 100% of their content. It is meant to hold cream and lotion.
Pedro Morales, Director of Sales and Marketing for KW Plastics, the company behind the project, also had great things to say about Lush’s new packaging. He said, “The Lush Black Pot is a wonderful example of the success both a resin supplier and brand owner can enjoy when each link in the supply chain understands the respective challenges and commitment to using PCR.”
7. Plastic braces that are 3D printed
Innovations in Plastics Industry like Plastic braces like Invisalign have been around for a while, but you might be able to save a lot of money by printing your own plastic braces at home.
A student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology decided recently to make his own braces by 3D printing them for $60.
8. Making oil from plastic waste
We’ve talked about how plastic is used to make roads, shoes, and braces. Have you heard that Innovations in Plastics Industry, plastic can be turned into oil fuel? A U.K. company called Recycling Technologies is trying to make a machine that can turn recycled plastic into oil, according to a recent article in Bloomberg.
Adrian Griffiths, the CEO of Recycling Technologies, and his small team have made a machine called the RT7000 that works well. When you put plastic in one end of the machine, it makes three kinds of oil at the other end.Griffith told Bloomberg, “We want to change the history of plastic in the world,” and we think he’s one step closer to doing that.
9. Plastics as a place to live
One of the newest Innovations in Plastics Industry to do with plastic is to use recycled plastic in an unusual building project. Bamboo House India, a social enterprise, recently used 1,000 plastic water bottles to build a bus stop hub in Hyderabad’s Swaroopnagar colony.
It only took about 15 days to build the 8-foot-tall bus stop, which is made of a metal frame and more than 1,000 old plastic bottles. Due to bad weather in the area, the company knows that it might not be able to withstand strong storms. However, they hope to make a “permanent recycled bus shelter” in the future.
10. Worms can help cut down on plastic pollution
Even though it may not be a “Innovations in Plastics Industry,” this new discovery and method are worth mentioning because it can help reduce pollution one bite at a time. We now have a new way to reduce pollution thanks to wax worms.
Galleria mellonella are worms that are good for the environment because they can break down plastic bags. This could help cut down on the waste that plastic bags cause. Wax is a polymer, like plastic. This means that it is made up of a long chain of carbon atoms that are held together by other atoms.
Wei-Min Wu, an environmental engineer at Stanford University, was quoted in a recent article by National Geographic. He said, “This study is another important step in the research on how plastics break down in the environment.”
