NUTEC?Plastics

NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) advances efforts to reduce and monitor plastic pollution globally. The initiative has two components: plastic waste upcycling and marine plastics monitoring.

For the upcycling component, pilot plants in Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have developed improved and competitive feedstock, construction materials and promising renewable fuels from plastic waste. These pilots, based on public-private partnerships, have demonstrated the outstanding potential of radiation technology in an industrial environment, attracting interest from the private sector and other countries. China has also joined NUTEC Plastics as a pilot country to develop innovative radiation-assisted upcycling technology. Research and development is under way to use ionizing radiation to transform biomass into biodegradable or easy-to-recycle bio-based plastics, reducing reliance on petroleum-based plastics and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the marine monitoring component, the NUTEC Plastics Global Marine Monitoring Network, designed to monitor and assess the impact of marine plastics on coastal and marine ecosystems, was launched. In 2024, the Agency conducted its first scientific research mission to Antarctica, with preliminary analysis revealing microplastics in all samples. The results will be shared in early 2025 with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, an interdisciplinary body that provides scientific advisory services to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. To date, 104 laboratories have joined the initiative, enabling new data on microplastic pollution to become available regularly.