A project in the Philippines, supported by the IAEA’s NUTEC Plastics initiative, aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste the country generates by using radiation to strengthen the discarded plastic and make it suitable for recycled materials and products.
“The Philippines generates an estimate of 61 000 metric tons of solid waste daily, up to 24 per cent of which is plastic,” explained Carlo Arcilla, Director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PRNI) in the Department of Science and Technology. “According to recent figures, the country is one of the world's largest contributors of plastic waste leaking into the ocean.”
Marine plastic pollution is threatening the fisheries and aquaculture industry of the Philippines — the 11th largest in the world. More than 300 000 tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year from coastal areas and settlements in Manila Bay, of which 80 per cent are plastics used for packaging.
To tackle this problem, the Philippines recently introduced an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law, which means companies are now responsible for the plastic packaging they use to protect, transport, and sell their products. As a result, some companies have started producing goods from recycled plastics. But this is not always possible due to the quality of the plastic waste.
“One major barrier to conventional plastic recycling is that recycling reduces the quality of the plastic and pellets produced,” said Arcilla. “When compared to products made from virgin resins, those made from recycled plastics frequently suffer in mechanical properties.”
Working with the IAEA’s NUTEC Plastics initiative, the Philippines is now focusing on applying nuclear technology to meet the challenge of plastic pollution, with the goal of adding value to plastic waste, and preventing it from reaching the ocean at all. The country has made important strides in recent months in testing out plastic recycling using radiation technology.
“In the PREx Project that is being implemented by the PNRI and supported by the NUTEC Plastic Project of the IAEA, we aim to use radiation to enhance the thermomechanical strength of materials produced from plastic wastes, allowing for more applications for recycled plastics. If we are successful, we will be able to contribute to the production of stronger materials from recycled plastics that may be used in a variety of applications, such as house construction projects,” Arcilla said.
