Mura Technology, a UK-based chemical recycling company targeting end-of-life and ‘unrecyclable’ plastic worldwide ushered World Oceans Day in yesterday with the launch of a new campaign called BluHope. The company has joined with the British High Commission in Malaysia to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the world’s oceans and biodiversity.
Additional partners include the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Environment and Water, WRAP, Plastic Oceans UK, TimorBlue, Asia Dive Expo, ZuBlu and YTL.
World Oceans Day marked the beginning of a week-long programme – 8-12 June - of online resources and activities on the BluHope.org website, including a comprehensive schedule of webinars from experts from within oceanic academia, environmental protection, plastic recycling and underwater filming and diving.
On Wednesday, the programme will focus on the chemical recycling of plastics. Among the highlighted topics is a discussion of Mura’s Cat-HTR catalytic hydrothermal reactor technology and the role this can play in recycling plastic materials currently considered ‘unrecyclable’ via traditional mechanical recycling.
The Cat-HTR technology developed by Mura uses supercritical water, heat and pressure to recycle multi-layer and flexible plastic materials back into valuable chemicals and oils for use in the manufacture of new plastic materials. The first site is in development in Teesside, North East England, with additional global sites in the pipeline. The technology demonstrates a complementary solution to sit alongside traditional mechanical recycling to create a circular economy.
The BluHope campaign schedule also features a series of online panels with International speakers, discussing topics including oceanic biodiversity and protection, and sustainable tourism. Mura Technology’s partner Plastic Oceans UK are showing their film ‘A Plastic Ocean’ on each day of the programme.
Next to driving the seriousness of the problem home, the film was made, said founder of Plastic Oceans UK Jo Ruxton, to include solutions to offer the audience hope. “Now I know about Mura Technology, I wish we had been able to include it in our film. This is upcycling at it best and for the #BluHope campaign offers real hope for a greener future.”
The BluHope campaign is also aimed at encouraging school children in Malaysia and South East Asia to explore the effects of plastic pollution on the environment. The BluHope website offers interactive and home-based activities available in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English.
The Malaysian Ministry of Education is promoting the activity by actively engaging 10,000 schools in Malaysia with the lesson plan and activities.