Shellfish Waste May Give Us “Vanishing Plastic”

Prototype biodegradable plastics are possibly just months away, spelling good news for the worsening headache of plastic packaging, which accounts for up to 25 per cent of municipal landfill.

Researchers at Swinburne University have been investigating the use of bioplastics – ingredients from renewable sources – and the properties of biopolymers that determine their ‘compostability’.

These projects have brought together PhD students, Suchetana Chattopadhyay and Cameron Way, who are examining the properties of plastics biopolymers as part of their PhD studies, under the supervision of Associate Professor Enzo Palombo.

Chattopadhyay is using a respirometer – a composting machine – to test novel, chitin-based polymers.

Chitin is the world’s second most abundant organic compound. It is mostly derived from shellfish waste, but also includes the exoskeletons of crustaceans, insects and spiders.

In collaboration with an industry partner, Chattopadhyay has provided the first direct evidence of true biodegradability in novel, chitin-based polymers.

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