Environmentally Green (Nano) Engineering Solutions for Replacing Plastics

Plastic has distinct advantages and functionality which includes packaging to keep products sterilised and fresh as well as providing barrier function required for certain applications. However, between four and twelve million metric tons of plastic enters the oceans and landfills each year, threatening marine life and polluting our food.
The aim of this project is to create alternative sustainable materials as a replacement to plastic. In order to do this we are going to investigate and develop environmentally omniphobic (waterproof and oil proof) materials that can be applied as coatings to materials such as paper and cardboards. This work can have numerous benefits for environment as well as improving the quality of life. This is because products coated with these materials can be recycled, have durability and used for longer, and can improve consumer's satisfactions