Plastic

3. Sebstainable Directors Tawab Frahmand and Vladimir Finn

Our scientists are working on a ground-breaking portable device to upcycle polystyrene into high-value raw materials with zero waste.

ULUU seaweed-derived plastic film

CSIRO is testing seaweed-derived polymers for use as an alternative to conventional plastics.

meal worm burrowing through plastic

CSIRO researchers are peering into the digestive processes of insects to see what happens when they are exposed to plastics. Do insects consume plastic or is something else going on?

Pool liners recyclate

Plans to develop a tool to analyse the chemical composition of specific PVC products could be a game changer for PVC recycling.

volunteers by a lake

Scientists and the Australian community are on the hunt for rubbish as part of a national plastic pollution survey. They’ve captured data on more than 270,000 items of rubbish so far. You can help too!

photo of waterway in Indonesia with lots of rubbish and the same area in the background cleaned up

CSIRO is working with Indonesia and other regional partners where COVID has exacerbated the plastic pollution issue.

biodegradable straws

Do you know your biodegradable from your compostable plastics? We give you the rundown on plastic packaging alternatives and their eco credentials.

A young female vendor sells plastic cans for carrying holy water at a market around the river Ganga, India.

An ambitious project between the two countries to reduce plastic waste could bring global solutions.

CSIRO's Deborah Lau looking at the camera with her hands in a bag of small fragments of plastic

With our oceans littered with trillions of pieces of rubbish, how do we solve the plastic pollution crisis?