New wave of funding for UTS seaweed bioplastics
A bioplastic product made from red seaweed, developed by UTS researchers, has just received a significant funding boost to take it to the next stage of development.
Dr Manoj Kumar holds red seaweed used to create bioplastic. Image: Andy Roberts
The world’s oceans and waterways are awash with plastic pollution that will never break down and seem impossible to clean up. A bioplastic product made of red seaweed that’s being developed by UTS for production in the Philippines, is a small step towards a sustainable alternative. It’s also a big deal to a million people who rely on red seaweed to survive.
Plastic pollution is “a global disaster, second only to global warming”, Peter Ralph, Professor of Marine Biology and Director of the UTS Climate Change Cluster (C3) said.
“Every year, about eight million tonnes of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations.”
Professor Ralph is leading the ‘SEAweed Tech’ project, which is based in the Philippines, where one million coastal-dwelling people depend on seaweed for their income – and 75% of the national fishing stocks are now depleted.
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