Nickel-loving plants help to recycle poly(ethene)

By Nina Notman2023-03-10T09:27:00

A man wearing a hard hat and hi-vis vest planting a tree in rough ground

Source: © Kaisarmuda/Shutterstock

Phytomining is helping to recycle single-use plastics

Low density poly(ethene) LDPE is one of the most widely used plastics, its uses include plastic bags, wrapping films, bubble wrap and single-use personal protective equipment (PPE). The proportion of LDPE currently recycled is very low, because it is a technically challenging and often not economically feasible process. Chemists in the UK have transformed nickel extracted from the soil by hyperaccumulator plants into catalysts able to break down difficult-to-recycle LDPE. Explore this new research context with secondary school students. Plus, download the story and a summary slide for secondary school learners aged 14–16 to use as a real-world context for studying phytomining.

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