• Question: What makes you love plastic so much?

    Asked by Imbethbtw to Laura on 7 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Laura Schofield

      Laura Schofield answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      Haha! You’re so right Imbethbtw! I do love plastic! There are many reasons I love it, one being that I’ve worked with it for 3 years! Another (perhaps more important reason) is that it is all around us. From the clothes we wear (check the label for nylon and other man made materials), to the bottles of drink we buy and the glasses that help me see.
      The more I found out about plastic, the more I became fascinated by it. There are so many different properties of plastic, some are floppy like clothes and plastic bags; some are hard and rigid like rulers; some are super strong like bullet proof vests (yes they’re made of a kind of plastic too! It’s called kevlar); some are completely colourless like the lenses in my glasses; and some are coloured like signs above shop doors.
      Unfortunately they’re all made from chemicals taken from crude oil and we’re running out of oil quick! So we (myself and a lot of other scientists out there too) are trying to find a way to make plastic from renewable sources like plants, that we can replace as we use them up.
      When we can make them all from plants I am sure I will love them even more!

Comments

  • Photo: Imbethbtw

    Imbethbtw commented on :

    Thankyou for my answer I have another question for you. How long do you think it will take for you to complete your task and also what would you do with the money you would earn?

  • Photo: Laura

    Laura commented on :

    That’s great Imbethbtw. I love an inquisitive mind! I’ve been working on it for 3 years now and am due to finish in March after 3 and a half years. Chemistry PhDs have a 4 year limit so I will have to hand in a thesis (like a book that I’ve written all about my research) by September 2015 but I am aiming for March.
    Do you mean the money from this process or from successfully managing to make plastic from fruit? If you mean from this process, I would spend it on running an event to encourage students like yourself to get more involved with science.
    If you mean from making plastic, I unfortunately won’t earn that much from it. I work for a company so they will make all the money from it. I’m in it just for the love of science! And the hope that I’ll get a good job out of it at the end of course!
    What would you like to do after school?
    Laura