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Come and learn about ocean plastics at Festival of Nature

On 9 and 10 June, we’ll be exhibiting our Ocean Plastic themed stands at Bristol Festival of Nature. The festival celebrates its 15th birthday, taking over Bristol’s Harbourside for the UK’s largest celebration of the natural world! With free interactive exhibitions, music, workshops, talks and much more, there’ll be something for all ages.

With the recent news articles and TV programmes on plastics, we’re looking forward to talking to the public about our exciting research into bio-based plastics, biodegradable materials and water purification. Four different hands-on activities will be on offer: Microplastics, Fate of Plastics, Ocean Clean-Up and Sustainable Coffee.

Microplastics: From our range of personal care products such as toothpaste, shower gel and suncream, will you be able to guess which might contain microplastics? Come and have a vote and learn more about our research on biodegradable microbeads produced from cellulose. See how you can help halt the accumulation of microplastics in our water supplies.

Fate of Plastics: Did you know that in 2015, of the 6,300 million tonnes of plastic waste produced globally, only 9% was recycled and less than 1% was biodegraded? The remaining 90% was incinerated or sent to landfill. Come have a go at our pinball game, and you’ll have more information to convince your friends to recycle better and a chance to chat to us about our research into biodegradable and bio-based plastics.

Ocean Clean-Up: Remember the game ‘Snake’? Play the version we’ve made and guide our robot around to remove toxic chemicals from the ocean. This is an area our researchers at the CSCT are working on, including efficient detection and removal of toxins from water. These toxins can be pharmaceuticals or chemicals, such as BPA (bisphenol-A), which leach into our oceans from plastic litter and damage the aquatic ecosystems.

Coffee: When you need a break, pop over to our stand for some coffee and to chat about our research into deriving value-added products from waste coffee grounds. These can be used as precursors to pharmaceuticals, for carbon capture and water purification. Oil extracted from the grounds can also be converted into biodiesel – all of the world’s coffee waste could provide enough fuel to run 4000 cars every year!

We look forward to seeing you there. Come find us at the CSCT stand!

By 23 May 2018
 

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