Plastics in my Tummy

Summary of the Fable

What is the impact of plastic waste on marine life? A barracuda rescues a turtle from a fishing net and they share their knowledge and concerns about plastic waste. They think about alternatives to replace plastic and preserve the planet.

The characters of the story

Tortoise

The scientist who inspired the Fable

Catia Bastioli is an Italian scientist-turned-entrepreneur who graduated in chemistry from the University of Perugia. She began her career as a materials specialist with the chemical group Montedison, researching biodegradable plastics from renewable sources. When the traditional business model followed by the company failed, and the company disintegrated, Catia Bastioli transformed its research division into an independent unit, and then into a new company called Novamont.

She remains committed to creating a biochemical industry, with a family of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics known as Mater-Bi, which relies on resources that do not compete with food. Catia and her team have moved from bioplastics to designing local economic development programs based on locally available raw materials. These feedstocks (bulk feedstocks) include agricultural waste as well as weeds.

Catia has taken industry transformation one step further by converting disused industrial sites, known as “stranded assets”, into productive units. She holds more than 100 patents related to biopolymers, demonstrating that redesigning plastic shopping bags can create innovations that offer new solutions for land and sea. Catia was named European Inventor of the Year in 2007.

To know more

Also available individually
in the digital format

All of Gunter’s fables are written in two languages, English is present in each fable.