November 28, 2019

From fish waste to biodegradable plastic: Aquaculture, fisheries score environmental points

The UK uses around 5 million tonnes of plastic every year, nearly half of which is packaging. Aquaculture and fisheries to the rescue. A UK student from the University of Sussex invented a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastic, which is made of organic fish waste and locally sourced red algae. 

The fish waste consists of unwanted offcuts from the fish-processing industry ranging from offal, blood, crustacean and shellfish exoskeletons to fish skins and scales. These bits normally end up in landfill rather than on people's plates.

The invention comes handy as the UK produces 492,020 tonnes of fish waste from fish-processing facilities annually.

The invention by Lucy Hughes has just won the 2019 international James Dyson Award. It is called MarinaTex, a bioplastic using a unique formula of red algae to bind the proteins extracted from fish waste. It looks and feels like plastic, but it is stronger, safer and more sustainable than its oil-based counterpart, according to the description by the award-giving body..

MarinaTex is also relatively resource-light, requiring little energy to produce. It biodegrades after four to six weeks, and is suitable for home composting.

It does not leach toxins, removing the need for its own national waste management infrastructure, the description further says.

Hughes, 23, said one Atlantic cod could generate as much organic waste needed to make 1,400 bags of MarinaTex. She is aiming to commercialise her invention sustainably and use her £30,000 (US$38,627) award money for further research into how MarinaTex can become a global answer to the abundance of plastic waste while still harnessing local solutions.

"I'm excited to now have the chance to undertake further research and development to explore all of the possible uses of MarinaTex, taking into account form, function and footprint", Hughes said.

Sir James Dyson, founder, of the award said: "…MarinaTex elegantly solves two problems: the ubiquity of single-use plastic and fish waste." -Rick Alberto

Lucy Hughes with her invention  (Image: James Dyson Award)