University of Adelaide PhD candidate Mel Nguyen was awarded the “Trending on VYT” award for her research on converting food waste into durable bioplastics. Nguyen was inspired to find a solution to food waste and plastic pollution after seeing the issue in her daily life. She discovered that bioplastics can be developed with adjustable properties, making them a versatile and eco-friendly material. Her research is supported by the University of Adelaide and the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre.
Nguyen’s next challenge is to find a path to commercialization for her functional bioplastic made from food waste. She hopes to achieve this through further refinement, scalability testing, and partnerships with industry stakeholders. Nguyen’s goal is to bring a viable product to market within the next few years, helping to shift towards a circular economy where waste materials are repurposed into valuable resources.