In Brief

  • Challenge: Plastics Challenge
  • Challenge Type: SFI Future Innovator Prize
  • Status: Complete

The Challenge

Plastics have been considered as one of the priorities in directives and targets set out by Ireland and across Europe. Reducing release of toxic pollutants while promoting the recovery of post-consumer contaminated plastic waste necessitates versatile and viable technology to meet current limitations in plastic waste processing. Finding a sustainable end-of-life options by assigning value to plastic waste is drawn as a visionary challenge to pave a way towards tomorrow's cleaner and healthier environment.  

The Solution

Decontaminating and upcycling critically contaminated post-consumer plastic waste into usable polymer building blocks which can be then reintroduced into the economy. Unlike existing recycling methods, this proposed approach is quite versatile to perform sterilization, extraction, cleaning and so on specific to the nature of incoming plastic waste. Adopting to greener recycling and recovery strategies will enable transforming current recycling infrastructure within Ireland and foster its commitment to net-zero carbon emissions and circular economy.

UN SDG Alignment

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

The Team

  • Team Lead: Dr Saranya Rameshkumar, Trinity College Dublin
  • Team Co-Lead: Prof. Yurii Gun'ko, Trinity College Dublin

Societal Impact Champion

  • Marc Bollée, FiltraCycle