Queen's researchers 'go bananas'

Banana plants could be used to make dolls, bins and traffic cones

Researchers at Queen's University in Belfast are pioneering a new technique which turns banana plants into plastic.

The university's Polymer Processing Research Centre is taking part in a 1m euros study known as the Badana project.

At present, tonnes of banana plants are discarded once their fruit has been harvested.

The aims is to find ways of turning the plant fibre into "rotationally moulded plastic", used to make household items.

'Sandwich'

Mark Kearns from the research centre said the project would bring not only substantial environmental benefits but a whole new meaning to the term "banana sandwich".

He explained: "The banana plant fibres will be processed, treated and added to a mix of plastic material and sandwiched between two thin layers of pure plastic providing excellent structural properties."

Rotationally moulded plastics are used in the production of everyday items such as wheeled bins, oil tanks, traffic cones, and dolls.

The technique will be used to recycle the waste products from banana plantations in the Canary Islands where an estimated 25,000 tonnes of the plants are dumped in ravines every year.

Mr Kearns said QUB's involvement in the study was testament to its strong links with Spanish universities and added that the research and development project would help create jobs.

"Banana plantations will ultimately benefit financially from the sale of the remains of millions of harvested banana plants, which would otherwise go to waste," he said.