Brunel expert Professor Karnik Tarverdi joined BBC Radio’s Naked Scientists at the weekend discussing possible futures for plastics - and exploded some common myths along the way.
In the programme, produced by Brunel’s alumnus of the year, Dr Hannah Critchlo, which will be repeated on Radio 5 Live this Saturday and Sunday, Prof Tarverdi defended the widespread practice in supermarkets of shrink-wrapping fruit and vegetables.
Far from being unnecessary packaging, using plastics in this way extends shelf-life both in store and at home, actually reducing the overall carbon footprint and food waste, he said.
He also sees a growing future for biodegradable plastics derived from plant sources rather than oil feedstock coupled with much more widespread recycling.
The programme is available here.