Recovering the value of plastics

Michael Shaver, Professor of Polymer Science, looks at how we can innovate as the use of single-use plastics increased during the pandemic.

Prior to COVID-19, our relationship with plastic had changed as we shifted away from single-use items. However, the hygiene concerns raised during the pandemic have caused us to turn back towards disposable plastics.

Plastics are important to securing our food chain and our food supply, in healthcare and in protecting us from the propagation of coronavirus.

But we can achieve a greener world by building a circular plastics economy, one that can recycle this material through an ecosystem that recovers value from discarded plastic products.

Recorded in August 2020.

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