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A team at the OU’s Integrated Waste Systems (IWS) research group is working on an ambitious partnership worth around £250,000 with a UK SME, and funded by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to develop a new type of biodegradable single-use plastic carrier bags that is recyclable, biodegradable and will have no harmful effects on plants or animals.
The introduction of the new single-use plastic carrier bag charge in England will potentially reduce the numbers of plastic bags going into landfill. The UK Government is also committed to investigating the possibility of exempting biodegradable carrier bags from the single-use charge in future. Dr Boardman adds “currently in the UK we still dispose of the majority of the plastic products we use in landfill sites,” which he believes “is a tragic waste of energy and resource.” Encouraging the uptake and use of biodegradable bags and materials is advantageous as this moves society away from a linear economic model based on ‘take, make, dispose’, which relies on there being an infinite supply of resources and energy, to one that enables us to maximise the limited natural resources available.
The results of this research and development are expected within the next year.
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