UK university students create bioplastic from landfill waste

A team of students from a UK university who developed a process for turning waste into plastic has taken home a clutch of awards at an international competition.

The students from Imperial College London have been recognised for their project, which uses harmless engineered bacteria to turn landfill waste into a biodegradable plastic. The team say they have developed a method for breaking down the bioplastic so that it can be easily disposed of when it is no longer needed and say their process could be scaled up to industrial levels..

The students won their awards at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, winning a gold medal for the project, coming first in the manufacturing section and third overall out of total of 200 teams worldwide.

Imperial team member, Jemma Pilcher, said: “In the future, our system could provide a sustainable way to make an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics, which would reduce our dependency on oil.”