Researchers look at turning banana waste into plastic

Engineering researchers at the Polymer Processing Research Centre (PPRC) at Queen's University have embarked on a €1 million (£0.9 million) 'Badana' study to see if they can use waste from the banana harvest at plantations in the Canary Islands in a diverse range of everday-use rotationally moulded plastic products.

Almost 20 per cent of the bananas consumed in Europe are produced in the Canary Islands and the plantations throw away 25,000 tonnes of banana plant from the banana harvest every year. The new technique being studied at Queen's University aims to find an alternative use for this waste, processing the banana plant fibres, then treating them and adding them to a mix of plastic material that is sandwiched between two thin layers of pure plastic. The researchers at PPRC say this creates excellent structural properties.

Mark Kearns, Rotational Moulding manager at the PPRC in Queen’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, said: “Once the fruit has been harvested, the rest of the banana plant goes to waste. An estimated 25,000 tonnes of this natural fibre is dumped in ravines around the Canaries every year."

Rotationally moulded plastics are used to make everyday items such as oil tanks, wheelie bins, water tanks, traffic cones, plastic dolls and many types of boats.

In addition to the environmental benefits, it is hoped the project will also increase the profitability of the plantation owners and help job security for those working in the area.

“This new technique will have substantial environmental benefits. It will hopefully result in a substantial reduction in the amount of Polyethylene used in the rotational moulding process, ushering in a new and more sustainable era in the production of rotationally moulded plastics. The research and development of this new approach will help create jobs and the banana plantations will ultimately benefit financially from the sale of the remains of millions of harvested banana plants, which would otherwise go to waste,” said Kearns.