{"id":684918,"date":"2025-08-13T22:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T19:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T22:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T19:45:19","slug":"seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Seashells inspire a better way to recycle plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a25b754e8f12\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a25b754e8f12\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#Why_are_plastics_recycled_so_infrequently_And_when_they_are_recycled_why_cant_they_be_widely_reused\" >Why are plastics recycled so infrequently? And when they are recycled, why can&#8217;t they be widely reused?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#Why_can_seashell_structure_offer_clues_for_improvement\" >Why can seashell structure offer clues for improvement?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#What_did_you_create_and_how_did_you_test_it\" >What did you create, and how did you test it?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#What_were_the_results\" >What were the results?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#HDPE_stretch_film_is_the_clear_material_that_wraps_products_stacked_on_pallets_It_cant_do_the_same_job_again_once_its_been_recycled\" >HDPE stretch film is the clear material that wraps products stacked on pallets. It can&#8217;t do the same job again once it&#8217;s been recycled?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#Youre_in_the_School_of_Aerospace_Engineering_This_work_doesnt_appear_to_be_related_to_airplanes_rockets_or_space_Whats_the_connection\" >You&#8217;re in the School of Aerospace Engineering. This work doesn&#8217;t appear to be related to airplanes, rockets, or space. What&#8217;s the connection?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seashells-inspire-a-better-way-to-recycle-plastic\/#Whats_next\" >What&#8217;s next?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/qa-researcher-discusse-5.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/qa-researcher-discusse-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: &lt;i&gt;Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences&lt;\/i&gt; (2025). DOI: 10.1073\/pnas.2502613122\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/qa-researcher-discusse-5.jpg\" alt=\"Q&amp;A: Researcher discusses how seashells inspire a better way to recycle plastic\" title=\"Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073\/pnas.2502613122\" width=\"800\" height=\"316\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a>s<\/i> (2025). DOI: 10.1073\/pnas.2502613122<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Researchers from Georgia Tech have created a material inspired by seashells to help improve the process of recycling plastics and make the resulting material more reliable.<\/p>\n<p>The structures they created greatly reduced the variability of mechanical properties typically found in recycled plastic. Their product also maintained the performance of the original plastic materials.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers said their bio-inspired design could help cut manufacturing costs of virgin packaging materials by nearly 50% and offer potential savings of hundreds of millions of dollars. And, because less than 10% of the 350 million tons of plastic produced each year is effectively recycled, the Georgia Tech <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach could keep more plastic out of landfills.<\/p>\n<p>Aerospace engineering assistant professor Christos Athanasiou led the study, which was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2502613122\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in the journal <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)<\/i>. In this interview, he discusses the work.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_are_plastics_recycled_so_infrequently_And_when_they_are_recycled_why_cant_they_be_widely_reused\"><\/span>Why are plastics recycled so infrequently? And when they are recycled, why can&#8217;t they be widely reused?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Recycled plastics aren&#8217;t pristine materials\u2014they&#8217;re a chaotic mix of past lives. Every bottle, bag, and wrapper brings its own history of additives, stress, and degradation. When we recycle them mechanically by melting them all down, we get a material that&#8217;s weaker than virgin plastic\u2014and wildly unpredictable. Unpredictability is a dealbreaker.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why recycled plastics rarely make it back into products that need strength, safety, or consistency, like construction materials, car components, or autonomous delivery vehicles. They simply can&#8217;t be trusted to perform.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_can_seashell_structure_offer_clues_for_improvement\"><\/span>Why can seashell structure offer clues for improvement?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Nature doesn&#8217;t purify. It organizes.<\/p>\n<p>Seashells, like nacre, are made of brittle minerals glued together by soft proteins. They&#8217;re not flawless, but they&#8217;re robust. The secret is in the architecture: hard &#8220;bricks&#8221; connected by soft &#8220;mortar,&#8221; creating a system that dissipates energy and controls failure. That&#8217;s a fundamentally different design philosophy from how we typically engineer materials, where uniformity and purity are the paths to reliability.<\/p>\n<p>Nature embraces variability and makes it manageable through structure. We borrowed that insight.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"mb-4\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\">\n    <meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Q&amp;A: Seashells inspire a better way to recycle plastic\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch\/?v=3MJPggM3s_Y\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Georgia Tech researchers used a device to test the reliability and strength of chopped-up sheets of recycled plastic. The video shows several stages as the plastic is torn apart, from initial deformation (white shading) to crack initiation to propagation to final failure. Credit: Georgia Tech\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-08-13T15:23:29-04:00\"\/><br \/>\n        <meta itemprop=\"embedUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3MJPggM3s_Y\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/3MJPggM3s_Y\/maxresdefault.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n             <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Stronger Plastic, Inspired by Seashells\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3MJPggM3s_Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n         <\/p><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up mt-4\" itemprop=\"caption\">Georgia Tech researchers used a device to test the reliability and strength of chopped-up sheets of recycled plastic. The video shows several stages as the plastic is torn apart, from initial deformation (white shading) to crack initiation to propagation to final failure. Credit: Georgia Tech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_did_you_create_and_how_did_you_test_it\"><\/span>What did you create, and how did you test it?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We took chopped-up sheets of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE)\u2014the same plastic used in industrial stretch wrap\u2014and reassembled them into layered composites inspired by seashells. Think of it as a synthetic nacre structure: stiff plastic &#8220;bricks&#8221; joined by a softer &#8220;mortar&#8221; made from a commercial adhesive polymer, engineered to absorb stress and control failure.<\/p>\n<p>To test it, we pulled these bio-inspired structures apart using a custom-built mechanical setup. We captured their behavior in real time, from initial deformation to crack initiation to propagation to final failure.<\/p>\n<p>Then we developed a new model\u2014a first-of-its-kind uncertainty-aware Tension Shear Chain model. Rather than just assessing how stiff and strong the material was, our model also provided a measure of confidence of how reliably it performed under tension.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_were_the_results\"><\/span>What were the results?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We reduced the variability in maximum elongation\u2014a key measure of mechanical performance\u2014by over 68%. Normally, recycled plastics are all over the place in mechanical performance. Our structured composites were consistent. That&#8217;s a key requirement for any real-world application.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, we built a structure you can trust, using materials you normally can&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"HDPE_stretch_film_is_the_clear_material_that_wraps_products_stacked_on_pallets_It_cant_do_the_same_job_again_once_its_been_recycled\"><\/span>HDPE stretch film is the clear material that wraps products stacked on pallets. It can&#8217;t do the same job again once it&#8217;s been recycled?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Not quite. Stretch film needs to be both strong and flexible. But once it&#8217;s exposed to sunlight, stress, and heat, its molecular structure changes. Recycling it blindly is like reusing a parachute without checking for rips. Our bio-inspired design doesn&#8217;t just reuse the plastic; it restores its reliability, making high-performance reuse possible.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Youre_in_the_School_of_Aerospace_Engineering_This_work_doesnt_appear_to_be_related_to_airplanes_rockets_or_space_Whats_the_connection\"><\/span>You&#8217;re in the School of Aerospace Engineering. This work doesn&#8217;t appear to be related to airplanes, rockets, or space. What&#8217;s the connection?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Designing the next generation of aerospace systems requires thinking across disciplines and pushing beyond conventional materials. For example, one of the biggest challenges in space engineering is creating structures that don&#8217;t fail in unpredictable, extreme environments. Whether it&#8217;s a reusable rocket part or a shelter on Mars, we need materials that are resilient across their entire lifecycle.<\/p>\n<p>Our <i>PNAS<\/i> study tackles a fundamental mechanics problem: How do you build reliable structures from unreliable materials? That&#8217;s not just a recycling question. It&#8217;s a future-of-space question.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_next\"><\/span>What&#8217;s next?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We&#8217;re scaling this approach to work with a wider range of recycled plastics while pairing them with greener, bio-based adhesives to make the entire structure more sustainable. At the same time, we&#8217;re exploring how this strategy could support off-Earth construction, where recycling and reusing materials is a necessity. NASA&#8217;s Lunar Recycling Challenge, for example, points to a future where waste becomes the building block of survival.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDimitrios Georgiou et al, Suppressing mechanical property variability in recycled plastics via bioinspired design, <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/i> (2025). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2502613122\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1073\/pnas.2502613122<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    Georgia Institute of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><br \/>\n                                                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/techx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v2\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Q&amp;A: Seashells inspire a better way to recycle plastic (2025, August 13)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 13 August 2025<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-08-qa-seashells-recycle-plastic.html\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n                                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2025-08-qa-seashells-recycle-plastic.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073\/pnas.2502613122 Researchers from Georgia Tech have created a material inspired by seashells to help improve the process of recycling plastics and make the resulting material more reliable. The structures they created greatly reduced the variability of mechanical properties typically found in recycled plastic. Their product&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":684919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/qa-researcher-discusse-5.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-684918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}