Innovative Ways of Treating Waste Materials

BACKGROUND

When it comes to government funding, spending on scientific research is always easy to cut. Generally speaking the public won't notice or care very much, and it could be years before the effects are fully realised. In 2014, Ireland increased public expenditure on science to €2.7 billion, up from a figure of €1.8 billion which has remained fairly constant over the last 5 years, see here. Increased funding is always welcome, but those performing the research are under more and more pressure to show the practical implications of their research. Science is about more than the latest mobile device, or faster download speeds. There are practical applications spinning out basic research all the time. This blog post uses the backdrop of Irelands agricultural sector to show two innovative ways in which improved understanding of science is helping to reduce waste, and improve sustainably.

AGRICULTURAL WASTE IN IRELAND
The normal day-to-day operations of an Irish farm can produce a wide variety of waste products, from tyres, to engine oil, plastics, and old chemical fertilisers.Those than can be recycled or reused often are and Ireland has made great strides in this area in the past decade after lagging behind many of our european counterparts.

Most recently there has been a major initiative to collect hazardous waste materials from Irish farms. The environmental protection agency, EPA, has been very active in this regard, setting up waste collection points at ten strategic locations around the country in an attempt to clean up our farms.

DANGERS OF AGRICULTURAL WASTE

A typical Irish farm uses an increasing number of chemical products. These chemicals are safe when used and housed appropriately, but they could pose a serious threat to the environment or to a farmer’s health if not stored or disposed of correctly. One example is that of chemical fertilisers high in nitrogen and phosphorous. An uncontrolled release of fertilisers into a nearby water supply will result in the formation of algae blooms rendering the water uninhabitable for marine life. The presence of veterinary medicines and equipment such as anaesthetics, painkillers, and syringe needles can also pose a risk to the farmer or his family. Each of these medications must be stored correctly, securely, and safely disposed of when no longer in use. Thanks to the efforts of the EPA information is available to farmers on how and where to best dispose of these hazardous waste materials.

CURRENT REGULATIONS ON WASTE DISPOSAL

The establishment of hazardous waste collection points by the EPA was performed in collaboration with Teagasc and local county councils. This is in accordance with the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan, 2014-2020, which aims to prevent waste, as well as reducing it. This plan was well received by Irish farmers, pleased to have a means for the safe disposal of their waste material.

AQUACULTURE

It’s not just Irish farms that produce waste by-products. The Irish fishing industry is an essential source of income to our more remote communities. For many, fishing is more than just a traditional way of life. The fishing industry in Ireland represents a thriving and important economic activity with revenues in excess of €850 million per annum. 

Exports from Ireland find their way as far afield as Russia and China. Total revenue is expected to hit €1 billion by 2020 thanks to the recent and welcome news of increased government investment in this sector. The minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, announced €241 million worth of investment in the seafood sector to stimulate jobs and develop the industry, as well as to win new contracts. There is also an emphasis on environmental impacts and conservation measures to help sustain and conserve this important industry for future generations. Sales of shellfish account for 20% of all seafood revenue, of which shrimp and crap are a significant part. 

Currently, both shrimp and crab are undergoing processing to remove the edible meat from the inedible shellThis results in a vast amount of unusable waste material. Incredibly, over 6 million tonnes of waste material are produced worldwide, every year. The shells of these crustaceans are composed of a strong biological material called chitin, shown below. 

Chitin has some very desirable properties for the animal that produces it. It’s lightweight but tough and durable. It is secreted from the skin of the animal, meaning each shell is custom made and fits perfectly. However, in terms of human consumption, chitin is a useless by-product of shellfish processing. However, modern biomolecular science provides an innovative use for this otherwise useless by-product.

CASE STUDY I - ERRIGAL BAY

Errigal Bay, an Irish-based seafood processing company with plants in Donegal and Wexford specialises in shellfish processing, with established markets in the US, the UK, and Asia. In 2012 they teamed up with Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) and with the help of EU funding, began researching a better way to treat shellfish waste. The ChiBio project, as it’s known, was born. This partnership between industry and academia set out to turn chitin into a useful, and profitable product in it’s own right. Thanks to advancements in modern biology, scientists at LYIT are working on turning chitin into a new product called Chitosan. Chitosan is obtained from chemical modification of chitin to obtain a unique biopolymer with fascinating characteristics. The most exciting properties of this product are its biomedical applications, where it is currently being utilized for everything from promoting bone growth, to wound dressings, and even artificial skin. 

Until recently manufacturing Chitosan from chitin was expensive and environmentally damaging. But researchers at LYIT have been able to build on a growing body of scientific research in this area to make Chitosan production a cleaner and greener process. It’s all thanks to the applications of molecular biology to create genetically modified microbes capable of munching on chitin and generating Chitosan in the process. Dr. Catherine Lynch heads the research team working on the ChiBio project at LYIT. She spoke about the importance of Chitosan production in terms of reducing the waste that Irish shell fishing produces, “The fishing industry creates a major source of biowaste in Europe. The legislation calls for marine biowastes to be disposed of in landfills. This is expensive and not environmentally friendly.” Dr. Lynch found the research both challenging and stimulating. As for her motivations, she states, “The major incentive was to use raw material that was considered waste and produce a valuable product such as Chitosan. The main challenge was to generate enough material for our EU partners to work with”. Thanks to the work of people like Dr. Lynch, Ireland can expect to reap significant benefits from Chitosan in the future.

CASE STUDY II - BIOPLASTECH

Plastics are ubiquitous in every aspect of modern life, and farming is no exception. From pesticide containers to fertiliser bags, Irish farmers dispose of 25,000 tonnes of waste plastics every year. Off all the plastics used, polyethylene (PE) is the most common, being used to make piping, chemical storage containers, and agricultural films.

However, as governments and businesses alike begin to appreciate that oil reserves are limited, is it now time to rethink how we make and use plastics. A young Irish company appropriately named Bioplastech aims to do exactly that.

Bioplastech aims to convert waste plastics into what is known as bioplastic. By screening through hundreds of microbes found in local soil, Bioplastech struck gold, or rather plastic, when they identified a stain of bacteria called Pseudomonas putida. Headed by Dr. Kevin O’Connor at UCD, the company’s scientists grow these bacteria under laboratory conditions using a special diet of glycerol and polyethylene (PE). As the bacteria feed and grow they convert PE to a new biodegradable plastic called polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA for short. Amazingly, research has shown it is also possible to produce PHA from common-or-garden ryegrass, a plant that Ireland has in abundance.

It might seem counterintuitive to make bioplastic from existing plastic materials, but this strategy makes sense for three reasons. Firstly, there is an abundance of PE plastic. Currently this material is either sent to landfill sites or simply warehoused until it can be incinerated. Both of these waste streams are harmful to the environment. By using PE to make bioplastics, the amount of harmful plastics being sent to landfill can be dramatically reduced. Secondly, traditional plastics are made using petroleum, which is derived from crude oil. With finite oil reserves it makes economic and environmental sense to utilize the vast amount of waste plastic already available for the production of bioplastic. This reduces the global demand on oil supplies. Finally, bioplastic is biodegradable, meaning it can be safely disposed of in landfills, or recycled as a starting material for more bioplastic. Overall, the production of bioplastic has a positive impact on the environment, while at the same time highlighting a high-tech and innovative home-grown industry.

THE FUTURE OF WASTE DISPOSAL IN IRELAND

Irelands environment is one of our most valuable assets. The Irish landscape is recognised worldwide for it’s breath-taking scenery and idyllic countryside. As a nation we have worked the land and trawled the sea for generations, all the while maintaining the natural beauty of this unique land. The industrialisation of farming and fishing was necessary for Ireland to remain competitive and productive. We must continue to be mindful of our impact to the environment moving forward, and build on the continued success of the EPA in reducing and reusing waste materials. Clean waters and uncontaminated land are essential to our continued economic success as a country.

The education and industry sectors also have a role to play. Continued government investment in the biosciences will ensure Ireland has the expertise required to drive innovative waste management solutions. Errigal Bay and Bioplastech are both great examples of what can happen when industry and universities work together.