Green Chemistry Digital Incursion

On Wednesday the 25th of June the MGC Student Environment team participated in a virtual chemistry incursion to learn about the history and future of plastics. 

Given the wonderful versatility of this synthetic product and the reliance society has on plastic in everything from surgical tools to building products and our own personal electronic devices, we were impressed to hear about the innovations in bioplastics.

Bioplastics are products designed from natural materials rather than fossil fuels. They are manufactured in specific ways so that they can biodegrade at the end of their lifecycle. Standard plastic does not biodegrade, but rather breaks apart into smaller and smaller pieces known as bioplastics, which can cause environmental problems for wildlife and humans in the ecosystem. Remember that ever piece of fossil fuel derived plastic ever made still exists!

Our presenter Anthony demonstrated how plastic film can be made quite simply from potato starch, vinegar and glycerin.

While we acknowledge that the most effective measure to reduce the horrible consequences of plastic waste on this planet is to avoid disposable items altogether, it is great to know that the technology is available to reduce the harm caused by plastic waste. It’s a shame that the technology is not being rolled out more urgently!

The incursion was expertly run by Ecolinc in Bacchus Marsh, a Victorian Government STEM Education Centre. The virtual incursion worked well using the zoom technology and our team were highly engaged, asking lots on thoughtful questions. We would like to thank the Ecolinc presenters for their engaging presentation and the extra inspiration it gave our team to prepare for PLASTIC FREE JULY. All students are encouraged to participate in this challenge and more information will be sent our to students this week. As a school on a journey towards zero waste, we would like to encourage families to continue to avoid single use products such as gladwrap and chip packets. We have sadly seen an increase in the amount of litter around the school since the temporary return of landfill bins due to COVID-19 precautions. It is such a shame to see these disposable items in the school yard; they can so easily blow into the Yarra.