Flashing my inner geek here with some news about a teenager who's developing a bioplastic made from old banana peels.
Last month, 16-year-old Elif Bilgin was awarded the 2013 Science in Action Award at the third annual Google Science Fair for her 2-year-long effort to turn discarded banana peels into plastic.
Jazzy, WHY are you making us read about 3-week-old news?
Because plastic is EVERYWHERE. Literally. It's time to find a better version that gives us what we need from the material without all the toxic business. Aren't we smart enough to do that?
Bilgin told Scientific American, "For me, this means that my project actually has a potential to be a solution to the increasing pollution problem caused by petroleum-based plastic."
Wow, she GETS IT. What were you doing when you were her age? I was in the marching band and spent a lot of time whining to my parents to take me to Gap. I loved physics, but chem was NOT my thing. This girl's changing the way we look at chemistry, with super far-reaching implications across so many industries. She rocks, and deserves all the attention she can get!!!
Read about Elif's work and award here, and check out Wikipedia's page here to polish your bioplastics acumen.
-- Jazzy