In Newfoundland, graduate chemistry student Courtney Laprise has developed a process to turn fish guts into plastic. Laprise tells CTV that oil from fish waste, including heads and intestines, can be biologically treated and then cured to produce a plastic with potential for use as films or in adhesives. The final product is also odor-free.
Her work at St. John’s has already attracted attention from several companies, while Laprise says she is testing the material’s biodegradability. “Whether it degrades into toxic materials,” she said. “If it just gets thrown in the landfill, will it degrade?”
Similar projects are already underway worldwide. Iceland’s Atlantic Leather, for example, produces leather from the skins of salmon, perch, cod and wolfish.