Building with Lego bricks is "an obsession" for Pinaki, who also plays the piano and enjoys karate. He would like to pursue a career in engineering, he says, because "math and science are my favorite subjects and I love to combine the two to construct things."
Two years ago, Pinaki attended a marine mammal show that piqued his interest in recyclables. The trainer explained the damage nondegradable plastics cause in the environment. From this experience, Pinaki began to learn about the growth industry of biodegradable plastics.
Last year, Pinaki attempted to make a less expensive version of the polymer polycaprolactone by reinforcing it with sawdust. This year, he wanted to reinforce the polycaprolactone with sawdust, cornstarch, and talc powder to find the best combination of strength and biodegradability. All three substances combined with the polycaprolactone were thermoformed using a wide variety of thermoplastic shaping techniques. In last year's blend, Pinaki found that replacing 20 percent of the polycaprolactone with sawdust sped biodegradation: at 239 days, nearly 50 percent of his blend had degraded, compared with only 20 percent of the pure plastic. Compost studies of this year's blends continue.
