Plastics have become ubiquitous in both their adoption as materials and as environmental contaminants.Widespread pollution of these versatile, man-made, and largely petroleum-derived polymers has resulted from their long-term mass production, inappropriate disposal, and inadequate end of life management. Polyethylene (PE) is at the forefront of this problem, accounting for one third of plastic demand in Europe in part due to its extensive use in packaging (European Parliament, 2020). Current recycling and incineration processes do not represent sustainable solutions to tackle plastic waste, especially once it becomes littered, and the development of new waste-management and remediation technologies are needed. Mycoremediation (fungal-based biodegradation) of PE has been the topic of several studies over the last two decades. The utility of these studies is limited by an inconclusive definition of biodegradation and a lack of knowledge regarding the biological systems responsible. This review highlights relevant features of fungi as potential bioremediation agents, before discussing the evidence for fungal biodegradation of both high-and low-density PE. An up-to-date perspective on mycoremediation as a future solution to PE waste is provided.

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Digital twinning offers a prospect of accessing enormous information about products and associated manufacturing processes by applying internet of things, artificial intelligence, and digital databases, specifically in the context of Industry 4.0. The gathered information can enable the evaluation of the degree of sustainability of any product and the associated manufacturing processes. This paper proposes such evaluation by utilizing a novel metric termed as Product Sustainability Index (PSI). Advances in smart manufacturing and digital twinning could enable collection of data needed to estimate PSI which considers environmental and societal dimensions of sustainability associated with the production processes of any product. The PSI has a potential to inform customers about the environmental impacts of the products they consume and may also be used as an evaluation and a policy tool by manufacturers and governments.

A number of studies have looked how resultant stress concentrations in designs can have a detrimental effect on finished parts. Recently student projects at Solent University experienced issues with uncertainty in stress concentrations from laser cutting of polymeric materials. This study looks at conventional tensile testing to evaluate PMMA (acrylic) subjected to tensile testing, varying the presence of fillet radii on section changes, and compare the findings to finite element analysis (FEA) models. In addition, parts are tested under centripetal loading to compare the effects of stress concentrations when a component is subjected to centripetal force and angular acceleration, in the form of a horizontal fan blade. The centripetal testing will avoid the effects of impulse on specimens but allow comparisons to be drawn between physical testing (with limited controlled variables) using a motor hub and FEA results. The findings will be used in teaching undergraduates and also help with future student projects.