{"id":19731,"date":"2024-06-28T07:00:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T01:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/?post_type=story&#038;p=19731"},"modified":"2024-06-27T13:45:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T08:15:28","slug":"angelina-arora-the-indian-australian-teen-finds-a-solution-to-single-use-plastic","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/angelina-arora-the-indian-australian-teen-finds-a-solution-to-single-use-plastic\/","title":{"rendered":"Angelina Arora: The Indian-Australian teen finds a solution to single-use plastic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><strong>(June 28, 2024)<\/strong> A routine trip to a local grocery store made the then 11-year-old Angelina Arora committed to finding a better solution to single-use plastic. Seeing a huge number of plastic bags being carried out of the store made her understand their detrimental impact on the environment and led the Adelaide-based innovator on a quest to save Earth by finding biodegradable alternatives.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Having mulled over the possible solution for years, in Class 9 as a science project, she began experimenting with corn starch and potato starch to create a biodegradable bag, however, they dissolved in water. She then tried banana peels and other waste products, however, nothing proved successful. Her eureka moment came while sitting at a local fish and chips shop and staring at a pile of fish waste &#8211; including crab shells, prawn tails and fish heads. She packed a few kilos of the discarded shells and headed straight to her Sydney Girls High School science lab to start experimenting. Noticing similarities between prawn shells and plastic, she knew she could have found the answer. &#8220;I looked at prawns and thought what makes their shells look like plastic? Maybe I can take that out and use it some way and bind it to make a plastic-like material,&#8221; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Global Indian<\/em><\/a> said in an interview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_19737\" style=\"width: 622px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19737\" class=\"wp-image-19737 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/angelina2.jpg\" alt=\"Innovator | Angelina Arora | Global Indian\" width=\"612\" height=\"408\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 612px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 612\/408;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19737\" class=\" wp-image-19737\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/angelina2.jpg\" alt=\"Innovator | Angelina Arora | Global Indian\" width=\"612\" height=\"408\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-19737\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelina Arora during an experiment<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<h5><b>Making biodegradable plastic<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>A budding scientist, Angelina extracted chitin, a carbohydrate from prawn shells, and converted it into chitosan which she later mixed with fibron, a protein found in silkworms. &#8220;It&#8217;s the same protein that spiders use to make webs. It&#8217;s very sticky. When you mix it with chitin it produces a fabric that is flexible and strong and exhibits all the properties you want in plastic,&#8221; she added. The biodegradable plastic decomposes 1.5 million times faster than commercial plastics and completely breaks down within 33 days of its exposure to bacteria. Her success attracted the attention of scholars and scientists across Australia and even won her the NSW Young Scientist Award in 2016, the Innovator to Market Award in the 2018 and BHP Billiton Foundation Science and Engineering Awards. Moreover, she received the fourth grand award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, where the innovator competed against 1800 students from over 81 countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"attachment_19738\" style=\"width: 582px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19738\" class=\"wp-image-19738 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/angelina1.jpg\" alt=\"Innovator | Angelina Arora | Global Indian\" width=\"572\" height=\"336\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 572px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 572\/336;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19738\" class=\" wp-image-19738\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/angelina1.jpg\" alt=\"Innovator | Angelina Arora | Global Indian\" width=\"572\" height=\"336\" \/><\/noscript><p id=\"caption-attachment-19738\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelina Arora with her biodegradable plastic<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>According to a new OECD report, only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled globally while 22 percent is mismanaged. Though bans and taxes on single-use plastic exist in over 120 countries, not enough is being done to reduce pollution. And Angelina thinks that biodegradable plastic &#8211; which is low-cost, durable, and insoluble &#8211; is the need of the hour. She is keen to see every plastic in the world be made out of her biodegradable plastic. &#8220;While decomposing, this eco-friendly plastic made of prawn shells releases nitrogen which is very important for plant growth and immunity. Thus, it could be used for agriculture as well, and not just for packaging,&#8221; she said.<\/div>\n<div>\n<h5><b>Contributing to the environment<\/b><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Flinders University student, who was the nominee for Young Australian of the Year in 2019, is hopeful that biodegradable alternatives like hers will contribute to cleaning up the environment, especially the ocean &#8211; a cause close to her heart.<\/p>\n<p>Having started early, she believes the key lies in growing one&#8217;s own interests. &#8220;Doing your own research outside of school gives you the freedom to do what you really like and be creative, not for a grade. You grow interests, expand awareness and increase your curiosity,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;Plus it gives young people something productive to do for humanity rather than watching Netflix.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-38414 aligncenter lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/angline1.jpg\" alt=\"Angelina Arora | Global Indian\" width=\"533\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/angline1.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/angline1-480x270.jpg 480w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 533px, 100vw\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 533px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 533\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-38414 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/angline1.jpg\" alt=\"Angelina Arora | Global Indian\" width=\"533\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/angline1.jpg 533w, https:\/\/www.globalindian.com\/youth\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/angline1-480x270.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 533px, 100vw\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Angelina&#8217;s invention shows how we can use scientific creativity and care for the environment to solve big problems. Her work highlights the need for sustainable practices and opens doors for future green technologies, inspiring more people to develop eco-friendly innovations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Follow Angelina Arora on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/angelina-arora-922b771a2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linkedin<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(June 28, 2024) A routine trip to a local grocery store made the then 11-year-old Angelina Arora committed to finding a better solution to single-use plastic. Seeing a huge number of plastic bags being carried out of the store made her understand their detrimental impact on the environment and led the Adelaide-based innovator on a quest to save Earth by finding biodegradable alternatives. Having mulled over the possible solution for years, in Class 9 as a science project, she began experimenting with corn starch and potato starch to create a biodegradable bag, however, they dissolved in water. She then tried [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":38421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","story-category":[215,3384],"story-tag":[3922,3923,14,3925,3469,9316],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Innovator Angelina Arora finds a solution to single-use plastic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Indian-Australian innovator Angelina Arora has come up with a biodegradable plastic that could be the solution to the single-use plastic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/old.globalindian.com\/youth\/story\/cover-story\/angelina-arora-the-indian-australian-teen-finds-a-solution-to-single-use-plastic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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