Since the rise of petroleum-based polymers in the mid-1950s, the materials have become a ubiquitous stalwart of modern life — from the smart phone in your hand to the shoes on your feet.
If that wasn't bad enough, by 2060, humanity's consumption of plastics is projected to triple, while the volume that leaks into the environment is forecast to double to 44 million tonnes per year, according to the OECD's 2022 Global Plastics Outlook. “It’s really an alarming crisis,” said Jiang in a recent interview with Glacier Media. “Less than 10 per cent of single-use plastics are recycled.”How solving plastics could reduce wildfires British Columbia’s forests are choked with wood fuel, a product of years of forestry practices and a wildfire regime that has largely favoured blanket suppression over controlled burns.
“We’re trying to get that material and turn it into packaging, and at the same time trying to reduce the fire hazard in the forest.” They then took that 100 per cent cellulose solution — a similar precursor to paper —and manufactured a transparent, biodegradable film. The most important thing, he said, is that the plastic replacement film remains strong when needed and can still be thrown in the compost.