Problem: Plastics are useful and inexpensive but are manufactured out of fossil fuels, used once and then thrown away and create systemic health & environmental health risks.
Solution: Develop biodegradable plastics that are less expensive than petrochemicals while having similar or better material properties.
Breakthrough technology that makes it possible: Bacteria eat methane gas from landfills to create polyhydroxyalkalate (PHA) – a polymer that can replace polypropylene, one of the most commonly used petrochemical plastics.
See the entire presentation here.
