Tipp science project at RDS
Local students in young environmentalist competition
A group of innovative Third Year students from the Presentation Secondary School in Thurles are partaking in the final showcase of the ECO UNESCO young environmentalist competition at the RDS Dublin.
Their project focuses on the hazards of plastic production and the group studies bioplastic production by creating a product from a species of kelp called Laminaria digitata collected from the shoreline of Spanish point in Co Clare. The group compared their bioplastics to LDPE, a type of manufactured plastic that is in high demand using physical property tests (tensile strength, flexibility, water absorbency heat resistance biodegradability).
Emma, a member of the team, recently partook in the Stripe Young Scientist and Technology showcase in the RDS Dublin with her project on bioplastics and won a highly commended award in the biological and ecological category as a member of the junior competition. She also partook in her local Scifest at TUS campus Thurles with a similar project on bioplastic production, and won the chemistry award. Bioplastic is an eco-friendly plant-based plastic made from renewable sources like corn, sugar cane, or potato starch, rather than oil.
The group made our bioplastics from a seaweed called Laminaria digitata as it is not a food product, absorbs carbon dioxide while growing and is high in alginate a natural polymer that is the main natural ingredient used to create their plastic product. Their project also includes raising awareness; Éadaoin managed and created an Instagram account (@turningthetideonplastic) to make people, particularly the younger generation aware of the hazards of plastic production and to also encourage people to make slight changes in their daily routines that will protect the environment such as swapping prepackaged food items for loose or organically grown foods. Bioplastic helps the environment in various different ways; one of these ways is that it can biodegrade faster; some bioplastics decompose more easily than regular plastic so they can create less long-lasting pollution (each year, an estimated 19–23 million tons of plastic waste enter aquatic environments, polluting rivers, lakes, and seas). Bioplastics can also reduce the amount of plastic that stays in landfills or oceans for hundreds of years.
Ellie focused on the business aspect of the project and strongly thinks the applications for their bioplastic product are endless, however the target applications would be in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors such as blister patches, HRT patches, and nicotine patches. They believe their bioplastic product can be a direct alternative to single use plastics such as the plastic coating on dishwasher tablets to furthermore reduce microplastic in water supplies.