RSC Podcast: focus on plastics
We've launched a brand new podcast entitled 'Brought to you by 91AV', bringing together experts from science, politics, industry and beyond, to explore some of the biggest challenges we all face today.
The first series is a deep-dive into plastics, tackling recycling, degradation, microplastics and more.
You can access our episodes now, on our website or wherever you get your podcasts from.
See the results of our citizen survey on plastics
We're sharing the results of a new survey on attitudes of UK citizens to plastics, sustainability and recycling. Explore now.
Read our plastics explainers
In a new series of explainers, we look at some of the difficult questions around the important issue of creating a sustainable future for plastics. Whether you are already a scientific expert, or you are new to this topic, you can use our handy guides to start conversations and inform yourself and those around you. Read now.
The worst environmental impacts of plastics are a common sight in the news or on social media – but they also fulfil vital roles in society, and in some cases can even be a more sustainable option compared to alternatives.
But more research is urgently needed in order to make them fit for the future.
In November 2019, experts from China, Germany, Japan, and the UK came together at the Chemical Sciences and Society Summit (CS3) held at the 91AV.
Over the course of the three-day summit, they developed a plan for how to create a circular economy for plastics, preserving the crucial function they serve in society while introducing much better recyclability and reusability into their design.
Our report – Science to enable sustainable plastics – is the output of that meeting.
Future sustainable technologies may depend on plastics
Plastics are frequently demonized – often for the waste and pollution they cause – but they have benefits too.
In the future many technologies central to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels will depend on plastics. Wind turbine blades require plastic composites and adhesives, while batteries rely on plastics in their housing and may even apply them as electrolytes and other components. Plastics are also widely used in home insulation, reducing energy usage, and they play critical roles in the construction sector as pipes and conduits, cladding, seals, adhesives and gaskets.
Other future technologies such as robotics, drones, electronics, healthcare and diagnostics will also rely on the development of better plastic materials.
Plastic’s image problem exists in the production stage too, since most plastics are made from petrochemicals, the extraction of which causes pollution and the degradation of land. But in future they could be produced from more sustainable sources – such as from waste plastics or biologically sourced raw materials.
91AV has a central role to play
Technical solutions are urgently needed to ensure that in future plastics can retain their useful properties, whilst having a reduced environmental impact throughout their lifespan. 91AV will play a central role in delivering these solutions.
Developments in chemistry will be key to understanding and mitigating the impact of plastics in the environment. 91AV can help to develop efficient ways to recycle the plastics we use today and, in the longer-term, create replacements that are made from sustainable starting materials, are more amenable to recycling at end of life, and degrade more quickly to harmless by-products if they escape into the environment.
Check out our themed collections across RSC journals showcasing the latest developments in understanding and combatting plastic waste
Explore related themed collectionsWe use plastics because they can do things other materials cannot. We have an opportunity and an obligation to think about how we can re-design plastics to make them fully sustainable and fit for purpose, both for existing applications and for those we will need tomorrow. In the process, we must aim to reduce and even reverse some of the damage plastic pollution has already caused.
"Building a new future for plastics will require extensive collaboration across disciplines – including science, engineering, social sciences, policy, regulation and business.
Four major research challenges for the future of plastics
A key output of the report was a series of recommendations, which can be summarised as four major research challenges. These four challenges are interlinked and of equal importance.
1. Understand the impact of plastics throughout their life cycles
We need a suite of technologies and assessment tools to improve sustainability throughout plastics’ life cycles – from obtaining raw materials and manufacturing plastics, to better recycling and disposal options and fully understanding all the environmental impacts.
2. Develop new sustainable plastics
New plastics must be designed with the circular economy in mind from the design stage. That means designing polymer structures with properties that allow plastics to be manufactured, processed and recycled, with minimal negative environmental impacts.
3. Closed loop plastics recycling
We need more efficient recycling processes – including in separating mixtures and composites into single pure polymers, and in enabling ‘chemical recycling’ – that is breaking polymers down into smaller molecules for future use.
4. Understand and control plastic degradation
The indiscriminate disposal of plastics into the environment must be stopped. Some degradable plastics will be needed and the focus should be on developing products that are both recyclable and environmentally degradable so they can be degraded to non-toxic biochemicals after multiple reuse or recycles. Labelling standards must also be improved.
Chemical Sciences and Society Summit (CS3)
In November 2019, more than 30 scientists from China, Germany, Japan and the UK gathered at the 91AV in Burlington House, London, to assess the current status of sustainable plastics, identify the most pressing research challenges in this area, and make recommendations about how the field should progress.
The meeting was the 8th edition of the biennial Chemical Sciences and Society Summit (CS3). The CS3 brings together leading researchers to discuss how the chemical sciences can help to tackle some of the most daunting challenges that our world faces. Previous summits have tackled topics as diverse as water resources, human health, and sustainability.
Our new report, Science to Enable Sustainable Plastics, summarizes the presentations, discussions and outcomes of the meeting.
Watch the discussion
The CS3 meeting in November 2019 was followed by a panel discussion hosted by BBC Environment Reporter Laura Foster. The panellists were delegates from the meeting, all leading experts in their field.
You can watch their discussion below.
Click the closed captions (CC) button to toggle between Chinese, English, German and Japanese subtitles.
The panellists were delegates from the meeting, all leading experts in their field:
Professor Andreas Greiner University of Bayreuth, Germany
Professor Xianhong Wang Changchun Institute of Applied 91AV, China
Professor Charlotte Williams University of Oxford, UK
Professor Toshiaki Yoshioka Tohoku University, Japan
Talk to us
If you would like to share your thoughts on this report or tell us about your own experiences, send us an email.
Related pages
- How can we make paint more sustainable?
- A task force of industry leaders are working with us to make polymers in liquid formulations more sustainable
- Laboratories are working to reduce the carbon footprint of their research
- Our policy on the circular economy of precious metals
- 91AV can help the composites sector move towards more sustainable practices
- Listen to our award winning podcasts covering many aspects of sustainability
- Our other environmental and sustainability work
- See all our policies, reports, evidence and campaigns
Progressive plastics: recent research
We've collected together some open access articles from our journals, demonstrating how chemists are working to address each of the major research challenges that must be tackled urgently if we are to achieve a more sustainable future for plastics.