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A nuclear solution for plastic waste?
8 September 2022
How can nuclear technology be used to deal with the plastic soup? The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set up a special programme on this issue last year: NUTEC (NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution). NUTEC will investigate how recycling can be improved by radiating plastic and how microplastics in the sea can be detected. Any new technology developed will be shared with the world.
However, the burning question remains whether it will help solve the plastic soup.
RADIOACTIVE PLASTIC WASTE
Radioactive (ionising) radiation is already being used in countless processes to produce plastic. According to the IAEA, the technology can also be used to improve the recycling of plastic waste. When plastic waste is radiated, some types of plastic are modified and this will help in recycling and reuse. The IAEA claims that this new method is cheap, efficient and environmentally friendly, and can be scaled up easily. This puts it within the reach of many countries.
The claim is that this gives it added value compared to current recycling methods that mechanically separate plastic waste according to polymer type by:
- breaking down plastic polymers into smaller particles so that it can be used as a raw material for making new plastic;
- treating the plastic so that it can be mixed with other materials to make products more sustainable; and,
- converting plastic into fuel through radiolysis (radiation + chemical recycling).
DETECTING MICROPLASTICS
For years, shocking photos have shown glowing microplastics in marine animals. NUTEC promises to share certain nuclear and associated knowledge with laboratories all over the world to map microplastic pollution and its presence in marine animals more precisely. At a United Nations forum in May, it also transpired that the intention is to ultimately create a standard measuring method which would allow research outcomes to be compared. These techniques help to:
- identify trends in microplastic pollution in water, sediment and organisms;
- estimate microplastic bioaccumulation in vulnerable and other marine animals; and,
- draw up risk scenarios for policy making.
FALSE HOPE?
Improved recycling will not solve the problem of the plastic soup. It is impossible to collect, treat and process all the plastic. Apart from that, products made of recycled plastic will, in turn, add to the plastic soup. The solution for plastic pollution should not be sought in better recycling, but in reducing the use of plastic. Recycling using nuclear technologies is giving false hope, a solution that turns out not to be a solution, but an excuse to continue the current use of plastic.
When new technologies show the presence of microplastics in the environment more precisely, it will undoubtedly help in policy making. But have we not already known for years that microplastics accumulate in the food chain and are found wherever you look? Should the world wait for the research outcomes and technologies of NUTEC to battle the plastic soup powerfully?
Photo: Plymouth University.
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