The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of May 23rd, 2018

#10 Canadian student converts potato and lobster waste into bioplastic

In Canada, a recent graduate of University of Prince Edward Island’s School of Sustainable Design Engineering has developed a bioplastic using potato starch and lobster shells.

Haley Butler, who is 24 years old,  plans on continuing her research at UPEI while she works on her master’s degree.

Her mentor, Ali Ahmadi, tells The Guardian Butler’s work could be impactful for Prince Edward Island.  “Her work on 3-D printing of starch-based bioplastic (from potato waste) and chitin-based polymers (from lobster shells) is ground-breaking and can have an enormous impact on the P.E.I. economy, as it converts a waste to a value-added product,” Ahmadi added.