ASU researchers develop plant-based plastics to replace harmful BPA
May 5
The world discards 590 billion pounds of plastic each year. Just 14% of it is recycled. To make matters worse, exposure to some widely used plastics can have harmful health effects.
Plastics made with the chemical called BPA, for example, can interfere with the body’s hormones and worsen risks of heart disease, cancer and infertility.
Seeking safer and more sustainable alternatives, researchers at Arizona State University are developing plant-based plastic materials suitable for use in water filtration and medical devices, such as kidney dialysis machines, in which BPA-based plastics may otherwise be used.
Matt Green, Associate Professor at the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy at ASU, joined us to discuss.
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