Topic: Sustainable Plastics vs. Sustainable Systems
Speaker: Professor Michael Shaver, FRSC, FIMMM, is the Professor of Polymer Science in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Manchester where he leads initiatives in sustainable polymers, plastics and materials for the School and for the Henry Royce Institute, the UK’s national advanced materials science centre. Following a PhD in his native Canada from the University of British Columbia and an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Imperial College London, he began his independent research career at the University of Prince Edward Island before moving to Scotland in 2012 where he was a Chancellor’s Fellow, Reader and finally Professor of Polymer Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. He is now Director of Sustainable Futures, a pan-university initiative growing interdisciplinary research in sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. He is also Director of the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub, in which his active research sits, developing sustainable plastics, polymers and composites, including new motifs for renewable, degradable and chemically recyclable materials. His work ranges from fundamental projects rooted in monomer design to translational projects in plastic packaging, waste management and circular systems. He was the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Green Materials before his current role as Editor of the European Polymer Journal. He has published >100 papers and been recognised with >80 invited/plenary lectures, the MacroGroup Young Polymer Scientist award (2015), Young Academy of Scotland (2014-2018) and two Canada Foundation for Innovation Leadership Awards (2010, 2012) as well as Fellowships in both the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining.
Abstract: David Attenborough in Blue Planet II did what many polymer scientists in my field have been trying to do for years: Convince the public and government that the challenges of plastic waste are real and need to be fixed. But is this as simple as doing away with single use plastic? This talk will explore the complex nature of our plastic environment, the interdependency of plastics on our goals for lowering our carbon footprint and increasing our expected lifespan, while also showcasing our own work on how polymer chemistry has the opportunity to shape a new sustainable future by developing interdisciplinary solutions that work for all actors.
Each environment has different social and economic practices that enable its function. Technocentric solutions that don’t consider social practice are doomed to fail. Indeed, this is true of recycling, where our technical capability far outstrips our actual performance. So why do we struggle to recycle? Is this due to the nature of the material, or how we value it? Our new work focuses on developing value chains in waste management solution, looking at how all actors in a supply chain can derive this value from participating in innovation. Our “One Bin to Rule Them All” solution will be introduced as a model for how to develop a hierarchy of materials.