From Waste to Worth: Rethinking Plastics with NREL's Insights

Podcast: Science With a Twist

Episode Summary

In this episode of Science with a Twist, host Terri Somers speaks with Kat Knauer, Ph.D., Senior Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Chief Technology Officer of the BOTTLE Consortium. They delve into both the value of plastics and the pervasive issue of plastic pollution and its impact on the environment. Kat shares insights on the role scientific research and industries play in addressing plastic waste and promoting sustainability.

Kat’s expertise offers listeners a deeper understanding of the complexities of plastic pollution and the collective effort needed to forge a sustainable future, including:

  • An overview of some innovative solutions for recycling and the development of new, more sustainable plastics.
  • The importance of reducing single-use plastics in our daily lives, as well as in research labs and the broader biotech field.
  • Kat also shines a spotlight on a couple of collaborations with Amazon and Patagonia, each of which aims to create a more circular economy for plastics.

Kat has a concise call to action for listeners, as individuals and as professionals in the life sciences: make the effort to reduce plastics usage and improve recycling habits. 

Quotation marks
"Moving towards more reduction and reuse principles in the laboratory space. It's going to be painful. There's going to be growing pains in the beginning. There's going to be some things that don't work, but I really hope to see more labs push for this and bring in more programs such as tip washing, glove recycling, other types of reuse mechanisms to reduce their impact in terms of single-use waste."
Kat Knauer, PhD
Senior Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Chief Technology Officer of The BOTTLE Consortium

Guest Profiles

Kat Knauer, PhD

What she does:  Senior Researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Chief Technology Officer of The BOTTLE Consortium

 

Company: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

 

Noteworthy: Dr. Kat Knauer: Polymer Chemist Tackling Plastic Waste at NREL

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