Plastic can be made from banana peels. Once again, the ideas for improving the planet by looking at sustainable solutions are proposed by the little ones. Elif Belgin, 16, from Istanbul, thought one day that the skins of this tasty fruit, instead of ending up in the trash, could turn into something reusable. With the idea of him, the young woman won the 2013 Science in Action award, $ 50.000 offered by Scientific American as part of the Google Science Fair contest.
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from banana peels you can produce the plastic. Once again, the ideas for improving the planet by looking at sustainable solutions are proposed by the little ones. Elif BelginA 16-year-old from Istanbul thought one day that the peel of this tasty fruit, instead of ending up in the trash, would be useful by making something reusable. With her idea of her, the young woman won the 2013 Science in Action award, $ 50.000 offered by Scientific American as part of the Google Science Fair contest.
The latter, organized annually by Google, aims to reward the best ideas of children of various age groups, from 13 to 18 years. So it was for Elif, that one day she paused to reflect on the fact that fruit is naturally wrapped in a wrapper, which gives her all the protection she needs, characterized by flexibility and resilience. Elif Bilgin delved into the matter and found that the starches and cellulose contained in the outer layer of banana peels could also be used to create materials capable of insulating wires or for medical implants.
Building on what he learned, Bilgin then developed a chemical process to turn the peels into one bioplastic resistant, hoping to help reduce dependence on oil. Her efforts were amply rewarded by her first prize, becoming one of the finalists of the Google Science Fair.
According to the young woman, the problem to be solved was that the plastic we use contains petroleum derivatives and these are causing environmental pollution. If plastic (a material with such a wide range of uses in daily life) can be made with the use of banana peels (a material that is thrown away every day), then it will become a viable rival for plastic-based plastics. Petroleum.
"My project is about using banana peels for the production of bioplastic to replace the traditional petroleum-based plastic" has explained Elif Bilgin on the official competition website. "In this project, I developed a method of making plastic using banana peels and I found new areas for the use of the plastic I made, using bioplastic for making cosmetic prostheses and for cable insulation" .
The sixteen-year-old Turkish showed her project, as simple as it is significant, also with a drawing, illustrated in this video.
To bring her project to life, Elif employed 2 years. During this time, she really managed to produce bioplastic, which is actually used in daily life. After the garden from waste created to save the Indonesian coral reef, another 'young' idea could help save the planet.
Francesca Mancuso
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