August 9, 2021

Plastics sustainability has come a long way in recent years thanks in large part to scientific advances. But even as plastics become more and more environmentally friendly, the world continues to be polluted as many industries rely on them for their widely used products. The latest research from Dr. Junpeng Wang, assistant professor in UA’s School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering has a solution to reduce such waste and clear a scientific pathway for a more sustainable future that can appeal to the rubber, tire, automobile and electronics industries.

Founded in 2018 by sibling duo Shubham Singh and Himansha Singh, Pune-based Craste purchases crop residues from farmers and recycles them into packaging material and engineered boards. India’s propensity for agriculture means that the country produces a high amount of agricultural waste. A NITI Aayog report quoting MNRE data states that about 500 million tons of agricultural residue is produced every year; NCBI data reveals that about 92 million tons of crop residue are burnt.