Decontamination of Water, a New Use for Plastic Waste

Two weeks ago, after the havoc of deadly cyclone Ockhi, it has been reported that 80,000 kg or 80 tonnes of wastes was dumped on the Mumbai city coastlines. This shows that how huge is the amount of plastic wastes which ends up both on land and sea and the irreparable damage it causing.

At present, to reduce the increasing burden of these plastic wastes, we have only one option, recycling. Now, in this direction, Indian scientists have discovered a new use for plastic waste – purification of water.

Researchers at Indian Toxicology Research Institute, UP have prepared magnetic-sensitive absorbent materials from plastic waste, which can be used to remove the pollution caused by biopesticide named cephalexin from the water. Cephalexin is a micropollutant in the environment.

These newly developed adsorbents have high potential and can be reused. These advantages make it an efficient adsorbent for removal of emerging micropollutants. In future, these findings will evoke more innovative strategies for non-biodegradable waste management.