With the transformation and revolution of the global plastics recycling system, recycling and upcycling of mixed plastics waste not only reduces the carbon emissions of plastics during its life cycle, but also addresses its potential ecological and environmental hazards. The international cooperation project, ‘MIXed plastics biodegradation and UPcycling using microbial communities’ (MIX-UP), was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the European Union (NSFC-EU) in 2019. Focusing on the global issue of ‘plastics pollution’, this Sino-European MIX-UP project took the mixed waste of petroleum-based plastics (PP, PE, PUR, PET and PS) and bio-based plastics (PLA and PHA) as starting materials for biotechnological conversion into value-added, sustainable biomaterials. In this lecture, we will present project progress and dissemination activities from the Chinese consortium, including NTU, BUCT, TU, and BUCT. Through NSFC-EU complementary and cross-disciplinary cooperation, MIX-UP proposes the engineering of a new-to-nature biological route for upcycling, a low carbon and sustainable bio-treatment that is different from the traditional physico-chemical treatment. The implementation of the project will not only help to promote innovation and development in the field of biotechnology in China, but also contribute to the achievement of China's carbon neutral goal.
Announcement: Guest Lecture in May!
We are happy to welcome Prof. Min Jiang from the College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering of Nanjing Tech University for a guest lecture on “Biodegradation and Upcycling of waste plastics by MIX-UP” on Friday, 3rd of May 2024, at 11 a.m. (CEST).