Asia and the Pacific Youth
Virtual Challenge 2024

Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) for Sustainable Plastic Solutions

This challenge is open to secondary level students in a team of 2-4 students.

The primary objective of this challenge is for students to conceptualize, design, and construct plastic recycling facilities that utilize nuclear technology to promote a circular plastic economy. Students will explore innovative solutions in recycling and upcycling technology that utilizes ionizing radiation, in a circular manner to enable generation of added value products from post-consumer and post-industrial plastic waste, all while gaining a deeper understanding of the role of NST in addressing environmental challenges and promoting sustainable development.

Students will be tasked with creating an ideal plastic life cycle, where communities have easy access to state-of-the-art plastic recycling facilities within Minecraft Education Platform that leverage radiation technology to promote circularity in plastic production and consumption. They must consider various factors in their design, to perceive plastic waste as a valuable resource rather than solely a problem. In a sustainable context, plastic undergoes repurposing into innovative products with added value, like construction materials. This process fosters a circular economy where materials are perpetually reused and recycled.

Students can build a sustainable world, where the recycling centre is using the radiation technology in the recycling process. Alternatively, they can build a production or manufacturing factory that uses recycled material and in combination with radiation technology (such as an electron beam accelerator), or a combination of both. Additionally, it is important to address various ways in which radiation technology can be used to promote plastic circular economy.

1. Facility Design: Students will design the layout and infrastructure of their recycling facilities, while including several consideration such as optimizing space utilization, workflow efficiency, and safety measures.
2. Recycling Processes: Students will outline the plastic recycling processes employed within their facilities, including sorting, cleaning, shredding, and reprocessing of plastic materials.
3. Integration of Radiation Technology: Students will explore the integration of radiation techniques into their recycling processes, such as radiation-assisted sorting of plastic waste, and radiation-induced degradation of plastics. Alternatively, processes such as radiation-assisted pyrolysis or production of material/composite from plastic waste via ionizing radiation can be introduced.
4. Waste Management: Students must address the proper disposal or repurposing of waste generated during the recycling process, minimizing environmental impact and promoting circular economy principles.
5. Circular economy: Students will devise strategies to create systems within their recycling facilities, ensuring materials are continually recycled and reused to minimize the need for virgin fossil-based resources.
6. Safety Protocols: Students will establish the safety protocols to ensure the protection of workers and the environment from potential hazards associated with nuclear technology and recycling operations.
7. Sustainability Measures: Students will explore ways to enhance the overall sustainability, such as utilizing recycled materials in construction and non-construction application, implementing renewable energy sources, and minimizing resource consumption.

• What is radiation-assisted recycling?
• How is recycling beneficial towards the plastic circular economy?
• How can radiation technology contribute to this effort?
• How does radiation-assisted recycling contribute to reducing the carbon footprint and promote sustainability within the plastic industry?
• What will be the safety measures to ensure the protection of workers and the environment from potential hazards associated with radiation technology and recycling operations.

Students will be able to define recycling and explain why recycling is important. Students will be able to determine how radiation technology can assist recycling process and their role in plastic circular economy. Students will showcase how recycling can effectively mitigate global plastic pollution, thus addressing environmental challenges and aligning with the UN SDGs.

This Challenge through NUTEC Plastics Initiative empowers students to become agents of change in the fight against plastic pollution. By exploring the synergy between NST and sustainable development, students will develop critical thinking skills, environmental awareness, and innovative solutions to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

More information can be found here: IAEA NUTEC Plastics. You need to have an IAEA NUCLEUS account to enter the site. Please first register here.