It’ll barely make a dent, but e-waste dumping sites may soon have one less item in their midst. A chemical found in LCD display screens can be recycled into surprising new items including medicine and bandages.
From EurekAlert, via Earth911:
The chemical compound polyvinyl-alcohol (PVA) is widely used in industry and is a key element of television sets with liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. When these sets are thrown away, the LCD panels are usually incinerated or buried in landfill sites.
Researchers have now found a way of recovering PVA from television screens and transforming it into a substance suitable for use in tissue scaffolds which help parts of the body regenerate. It can also be used in pills and dressings that are designed to deliver drugs to particular parts of the body.
Professor James Clark, director of the York Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence and one of the author’s of the research, said: “With 2.5 billion liquid crystal displays already reaching the end of their life, and LCD televisions proving hugely popular with consumers, that is a huge amount of potential waste to manage.
Pretty interesting stuff. Any time we can transform a waste product into a usable product – especially when it’s being upcycled – is a triumph for sustainability.
Link [Earth911]
Photo credit: Flickr user mcbarnicle
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The article LCD Display Screens Recycled into Medicine is syndicated for use on EcoFunctional. The original content in it’s entirety can be found here.
