Plastics largely enable modern life but they are associated with two problems: environmental pollution and climate change. What if we could make these everyday materials without carbon emissions, and even remove CO2 from the atmosphere by doing so? And where do biodegradation and recycling fit into the scheme of a decarbonized, circular economy? In this talk, Jan-Georg Rosenboom discusses the concepts of carbon-negativity and circularity of bioplastics (bio-based plastics). How these materials can contribute to sustainability, and what challenges lie ahead, has been reviewed by the speaker recently in Nature Reviews Materials (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-021-00407-8/).

Jan-Georg is a Chemical Engineer with a focus on designing polymers for people and the planet. As postdoc in the Langer and Traverso Labs at MIT and BWH/HMS, he uses polymer chemistry to advance sustainable plastic technologies and create novel drug delivery devices against a variety of diseases. Besides, he works with the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) and is a plastics sustainability consultant for several major companies. Prior to his work at MIT, Jan-Georg did a PhD at ETH Zurich under the theme “Lord of the Renewable Rings”, where he synthesized PEF, a bioplastic similar to PET, from cyclic ring-molecules. He also co-founded EquipSent, a social startup that organizes lab equipment transfers to low-income countries with the aim to "Enable Education Everywhere". This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx