The increase in the production and utilization of plastics has created a never-ending problem of plastic waste. Developing countries face challenges with plastic waste disposal that in due process negatively impacts the environmental ecosystem. That notwithstanding, it suffices to mention that most developing countries have poor road networks that pose a burden towards smooth economic and social development. The problem is further exacerbated by the limited availability of bitumen which is usually imported but also has environmental concerns. It is against this background that we proposed alternative binders from plastic waste which can help developing countries to manage plastic waste as well as build road networks, thereby leading to sustainable development. We explored the 80/100 penetration grade bitumen modification (Penetration grade 85 and Softening temperature 46°C) using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste (2 – 12%) and lignin (0.2%) as a crosslinking agent by weight for every PET waste – Bitumen sample. The research showed that Plastic waste and lignin improved the performance of bitumen. The modified bitumen with 10% waste PET and 0.2% lignin enhanced the softening point and penetration points to 55°C and 46, respectively; hence the incorporation of PET and lignin provided better properties compared to the neat bitumen.

Background: FDA clinically approved silk for biomedical products in 2013 leading to its increased use. The silk comprises regenerated silk fibroin (SF) rich in β-sheet and with no traces of silk sericin. Removal of silk sericin(degumming) helps to convert silk I into silk II (β-sheet-rich SF). β-sheets provide silk with biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical properties. Degummed SF is stored in different formats; SF-fibre, SF-solvent, SF-aqueous, and SF powder. Although SF-aqueous is commonly used, it poses challenges in LMICs because of its short shelf life posing the need for new batches. Furthermore, LMICs face limited access to silk solvent alternatives. Aim: To develop a low-cost method for producing a β-sheet packed silk fibroin powder for medical application in LMICs Results: Successful SF dissolution occurred using cheaper solvent alternatives and optimising done for appropriate process. 1 wt% SF dissolution in formic acid: LiCl (FL) occurred at 60oC after 45min while with formic acid: CaCl2 (FC) at 60oC after 55min. UV-Vis analysis showed an increase in SF nanoparticles from e = 1.426 to 2.652 after dialysis indicating that solvent removal purified the solution. FTIR showed the presence of b-sheets in the SF powder at amide I, amide II, and twin amide III bands indicating the presence of silk II.

Barkcloth a naturally occurring cellulosic non-woven fabric has recently obtained attention within the scientific community for end use applications in various industries for instance automobile, household furnishing and construction owing to its robust mechanical, thermal and sound absorption properties. In this work, barkcloth was treated with different concentrations of zinc oxide nanoparticles which were deposited with the pad-dry-cure procedure. The Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were chosen for the evaluation of the anti-microbial efficacy of Zinc oxide Nanoparticles (ZNPs). The coated barkcloth samples with ZNPs concentration 0.6 g/L optimally performed against the two most common resistant bacteria i.e. the gram +ve and gram –ve bacteria, with the gram negative E-coli bacteria demonstrating a high susceptibility to the ZNPs than gram positive S-aureus.