This lecture was recorded on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at the Jarvis Hall in London and is the third live instalment of the Talk 200 lecture and podcast series.

Professor Mike Shaver, Professor of Polymer Science and Director of Sustainable Futures at The University of Manchester, discusses the complex nature of our material world, with a particular focus on plastics. He examines our presumptions around plastic packaging waste, the complexity of these materials in essential objects – from credit cards to conveyor belts to cars – and the interrelationships between these materials and sustainability.

Professor Shaver explores how to recover value by unmaking these systems at end-of-life, and why unpicking this complexity is essential for a more sustainable future.

The event also included a question-and-answer session with members of the audience and those joining online, as well as a panel discussion led by Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research at Manchester, and including Dr Helen Holmes, Deputy Director of Sustainable Futures; Dr Rosa Cuéllar-Franca, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering; and Dr Ciaran Lahive, a Research Fellow at the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub.

Find the full transcript of this episode on the Talk 200 webpage.

Further information

Find out more about:

• Sustainable Futures research platform
• Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub
• Sustainable Consumption Institute
• The Tyndall Centre, Manchester
• Recycling waste in the beer industry – explore how Manchester researchers at The University of Manchester are using innovative methods to analyze and remove plastic from the brewing process