CrystalRaindrops — 1 year ago(June 22, 2024 05:25 AM)

Due to growing public awareness regarding environmental woes, plastic has become the antithesis of sustainability. And, that’s largely a good thing. But, hate it or love it, many plastic products are here to stay for the simple reason that plastic is as crucial to modern life as it is a bane to the environment.
However, many plastic products are slowly but surely being phased out where possible. Most people are familiar with replacements and even outright bans for single-use products, such as plastic and polystyrene food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, cutlery, and disposable bags. Now, researchers are looking to tackle a plastic-rich industry that has been frustratingly difficult to upend: sanitary products.
Antonio Capezza, a researcher in the polymeric materials division at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, has found a way to replace various polymer fibers in diapers and sanitary pads with porous materials made of biomass waste. That’s protein from the waste of the food and agricultural industries that would have otherwise been discarded, closing the sustainable loop with a neat bow.
“Today, we have many options to avoid plastics in disposable products, but not sanitary products. I love the high tech involved in sanitary products and how much they help families worldwide. Hence, I believe it is time to put time and effort into trying to reduce our environmental impact with these products by providing alternatives and research towards a sustainable sanitary industry,” Capezza told ZME Science.
https://www.zmescience.com/future/food-waste-diapers-sanitary-pads/