Paper Bottles Could Help Us Get Over Addiction to Plastics, says Royal Society Industry Fellowship Winner 

Professor Joe Keddie has been awarded a prestigious Royal Society Industry Fellowship in collaboration with the sustainable packaging company Pulpex Ltd.

Keddie will now spend four years on a 50% part-time secondment with Pulpex, which has a single-minded mission to deliver sustainability through renewable packaging.

Specifically, Keddie and Pulpex will look to accelerate the future optimisation of paper-based packaging that is PEFC-accredited (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) using 100% renewable feedstocks. Pulpex paper bottles can be recycled in standard waste streams without any need for new infrastructure.

Joe Keddie, who is Professor of Soft Matter Physics at the University of Surrey, said: “I am excited and honoured that this Royal Society Industry Fellowship will give me an amazing opportunity to apply my expertise to help our planet, while giving the consumer an alternative to plastic packaging.

“I cannot wait to work with Pulpex, a new and growing manufacturer of sustainable packaging, to address the societal problem of plastic waste.”  

Approximately 583 billion plastic bottles were produced globally in 2021, and while some of this packaging is reused or recycled, a large proportion is not.

In the UK, an estimated 700,000 plastic bottles are littered daily. In addition to reducing the consumption of plastics such as PET, there is an urgent need to find alternative forms of packaging that have a low carbon footprint during manufacture and will degrade readily in the natural environment if not recycled.

Starting in September, Keddie and engineers at Pulpex will be working to develop a new coatings technology, which he has proposed. The Royal Society funding also includes support for summer undergraduate interns to contribute to the research. Under Keddie’s tutelage, future generations will develop skills and expertise in sustainable materials.

Keddie is a co-leader of Plastics in the Circular Economy research programme at Surrey’s Institute for Sustainability. The work of Keddie’s Industry Fellowship aligns perfectly with this programme, with its focus not only on recycling and reuse, but also on avoiding waste altogether and developing alternative materials for plastics.

Scott Winston, CEO at Pulpex, said:  “We are thrilled to be able to continue and grow our existing relationship with Professor Keddie and the University of Surrey.

“In particular, we’d like to thank the Royal Society for recognising the success of the partnership to date by awarding a long-term Industry Fellowship, paving the way towards a more sustainable future.”

Having co-authored a book on colloidal materials used in coatings, Professor Keddie is recognised as a leading authority on the subject. In recognition of his research excellence in colloid science, he was selected by the Society of Chemical Industry and the Royal Society of Chemistry to deliver the 2017 Graham Lecture.

The Royal Society Industry Fellowship scheme strives to promote the value and importance of science by connecting academia and industry. The scheme enables the Industry Fellow to develop and establish collaborative links between academic and industrial organisations, which may lead to longer-term collaborations.

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