Tools to make life greener and empower women 

From a young age, Dr Valentina Russo cared for the natural environment. Today, she plays an instrumental role in curbing plastic pollution in the economy as a senior engineer at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Moving from her native Italy to South Africa, she established a successful career spanning 18 years, refining the science of life cycle assessments. Now, she applies her systems engineering capabilities to assist in exploring nature-based solutions to address the problem of plastics for a competitive advantage in a circular economy. 

Russo has been a researcher all her life. Her career journey started after completing her postgraduate qualification at Roma Tre University of Rome in Italy. She exclaims, “I realised, oh, I like doing this. I was fortunate enough to continue being involved in research after my graduation. I received a bursary and completed my PhD. That was almost 20 years ago, and I still find meaning in research.”  

As a systems engineer, she completed all her academic training from undergraduate to PhD at the same university, coupled with a few specialisation courses on life cycle assessment in South Africa. “Being a systems engineer has granted me quite a diverse academic background because I can apply systems engineering skills and tools to study and assess any kind of system, whether it is the human body (an early career research topic in the field of biomedical imaging) to human activities (i.e. production systems).” 

Where the journey with plastics started  

Russo has been passionate about recycling since early childhood. “I have vivid memories of contributing my unused comic, scrap and colouring books towards recycling initiatives at primary school. This activity was my first exposure to something environmentally focused. I have been an environmentalist – long before this term became a buzzword – for as long as I can remember,” she says.  

Two eras in her life define her research career – the first being in her birth country. “When I was still in Italy, my research focused on biomedical engineering. I became involved in life cycle assessment research in the biofuels field, but I was longing to gain experience abroad and expand my horizons,” she explains.  

The second era transpired when she set her sights on South Africa, which became her new home. She enquired about the research and implementation of the life cycle assessment in the country and was fortunate to connect with Prof. H. von Blottnitz at the University of Cape Town, who was conducting research in this field, leading to her securing a position as a postdoctoral research fellow. “I delved laboriously

into life cycle assessment and environmental life cycle assessment research, with a lesser focus on plastic at the beginning. During 2018, when I was co-supervising a student conducting research on plastics, the seed was planted, and when a job opportunity became available at the CSIR to conduct a life cycle sustainability assessment study on plastic carrier grocery bags, the deal was sealed,” she says.    

Evidence-based science for the win 

At the CSIR, Russo’s focus is not limited to plastics but also includes waste-related projects. Currently, she is involved in the CSIR Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines to support the Extended Producer Regulations, with an initial focus on assisting those affected by the regulations.  

“Increasingly, I am involved in policy-related work, and this is quite a learning curve for me. Never could I have imagined that I could be involved in assisting the government through evidence-based science, helping them with their decisions,” she expresses.   

Russo is now also fostering a research interest in the hydrogen sector – thus somehow returning to sustainable fuels from where everything started – and unpacking the social life cycle assessment impacts of establishing or promoting a hydrogen economy in South Africa. “It is quite a new field of research, especially in the approach that we intend to use, which also means that we have to secure funding for it,” Russo explains. But that is part of the research journey, finding means to pursue your ideas.  

“As a field of study, life cycle assessment is more established in Europe. In South Africa, it is still in its infancy, but there is increasing interest and uptake. It is a competitive field of work and time-consuming to build models,” she says. 

Having a supportive and willing client can go a long way. “We offer life cycle assessment as a specialised service, with a research component,” she says. Misperceptions abound, such as that conducting a life cycle assessment is inexpensive, and this is, unfortunately, often accompanied by a reluctance to invest fully in understanding the environmental impacts of plastic products, but this is not limited to those in the economy. 

Demonising plastic is not the solution 

Russo believes that raising awareness in society rather than demonising plastics can assist in reducing its impact and determining how it is fit for purpose because, in certain applications, the use of plastic is necessary, even compulsory. “In certain applications, we simply cannot walk away from plastics. For some items and products, plastic is the sensible choice,” Russo emphasises.  

Avoiding the use of virgin materials for plastics is encouraged to help keep plastics circular in the economy. Russo is convinced that keeping plastic materials at the lowest volumes possible and applying circular economy principles is the best course of action.  

Plastics manufactured from bio-based polymers can contribute to a more sustainable commercial life. This may open opportunities for careers in new material development or biomimicry, which relates to learning or mimicking nature when dealing with more sustainable/regenerative practices for human activities and new materials as an alternative to using plastics, which are fossil fuel-based. In plastic products and research, creating alternative value chains for small businesses where alternatives are offered to the use of plastic can create additional economic opportunities.  

Women are the power  

Regarding women pursuing research careers in plastic, Russo believes that women have a naturally caring nature towards the natural environment. “The role and contributions of women in the environmental sustainability research community are on the increase, and women are well suited and well equipped,” she says. 

For women who aspire to embark on a career path similar to hers, Russo advises that the life cycle assessment is not the only instrument in the toolbox but one of many for addressing environmental and social problems. South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has introduced the Extended Producer Regulations 2020, an environmental policy that incorporates the Life Cycle Assessment. “Learn the tools. Have as many tools as you can, but do not be restricted by them. Think big!” she exclaims. 

Russo aspires to collaborate with international entities and explore the development of tools that can be adopted across sectors and industries – all to address plastic pollution. Some of the ideas are already being adopted and replicated in Zambia, for example. “To prevent doing research in silos and venture into the unknown, I am actively seeking out opportunities for collaboration to explore what is possible,” she says.