PH nuclear agency to host stakeholders meeting on plastic recycling
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology will host the National Stakeholders Meeting on Plastic Recycling through Radiation Technology at the Park Inn Hotel, Quezon City on 06 November 2023.
The high-level meeting, to be attended by DOST Secretary Dr. Renato U. Solidum and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Deputy Director General Hua Liu, is under the framework of IAEA’s NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) and the DOST-PNRI’s project called “Post-radiation Reactive Extrusion of Plastic Wastes (PREx Plastic).”
According to project leader Dr. Jordan Madrid, “The meeting will serve as a platform to raise awareness on the potential applications and contributions of nuclear science and technology in plastic recycling and the circular economy.”
“It also aims to foster partnerships among key stakeholders, including representatives from government agencies, private companies, high schools, colleges, and universities,” he added.
Other participants in the meeting are Dr. Jane Gerardo-Abaya, director of the Division for Asia and the Pacific under IAEA’s Department of Technical Cooperation; Dr. Celina Horak, head of the IAEA’s Radioisotope Products and Radiation Technology Section; Mr. Crispian Lao, founding president of the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Material Sustainability and vice chairperson of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, and Dr. Carlo A. Arcilla, director of DOST-PNRI.
Plastic pollution has become a mounting concern worldwide which urgently calls for efficient and sustainable solutions. To help address this problem, DOST-PNRI is promoting intervention by radiation technology which enhances the ability of thermoplastic waste to be reused and recycled to become construction materials, among others.
“Radiation technology is indeed one of the solutions towards a cleaner and greener future for the Philippines,” Madrid said.
(Framelia V. Anonas | Nuclear Information and Documentation Section, PNRI)
