The Henry Royce Institute is delighted to be partnering with the Royal Institution (Ri) and Professor Mike Shaver, Director of the Royce Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub and of Sustainable Futures, both at the University of Manchester, to present a compelling lecture from Mike which will explore the role of plastic in sustainability.
The lecture will take place in person, on 14th Oct, 19:00 – 20:30 at The Royal Institution in central London.
Plastics are a messy problem, highlighted by the extent of their use across different sectors and their value at end of life. But is eliminating single-use plastic enough to solve this problem?
Members of the public can join polymer scientist and sustainable development expert Professor Mike Shaver as he explores the complex nature of our plastic environment, including the interdependency of plastics on our goals for lowering our carbon footprint and increasing our expected lifespan.
Mike will also showcase the work of his research project “One bin to rule them all”, and how polymer chemistry can shape a new sustainable future by developing interdisciplinary solutions that work across the supply chain. The group aims to develop systemic approaches to improving sustainable fates, from reuse to enzymatic, chemical and mechanical recycling, and explore the opportunities and risks of new monomers for degradable polymers.
Finally, Mike will highlight the importance of authenticity – both in terms of technical challenges in qualifying and quantifying recycled material, and in avoiding greenwashing.
This partnership underscores Royce’s mission to raise awareness with the wider public around the critical role of materials and materials science. Royce supports a range of engagement activities, exhibitions and events to enable the public to gain insights into materials science and the ongoing research at Royce. Through this programme we it aims to explore the need for new, more advanced materials, and how research will enable innovation for a greener and cleaner world.
