Novel Technique Of Plastic Recycling - For Solving Global Environmental Problems

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have pioneered new technique to transform used milk bottles into kayaks and storage tanks.

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have discovered new ways to convert single-use plastic waste into products such as storage tanks for water and fuel, and sporting goods such as kayaks and canoes, which could help to solve global environmental problems.

Today the world produces over 300 million tonnes of plastics every year, which is almost equivalent to the weight of the entire human population. Much of this is single-use and not designed to be recycled, which creates a mountain of waste that enters the natural environment such as plastic pollution in the oceans.

However, researchers at the Polymer Processing Research Centre (PPRC) at Queen’s University are pioneering innovative manufacturing techniques to turn waste plastic into a wide variety of useful products. Their ground-breaking approach involves a manufacturing process called rotational moulding, which has the potential to economically recycle very large volumes of plastic waste into a wide variety of innovative products such as urban street furniture, storage tanks, and marine buoys.