A Queensland PhD student is taking on Australia’s plastic waste crisis, with her research into sustainable living set to take her across the globe.

Leela Dilkes-Hoffman, a member of the University of Queensland’s Translational Polymer Research Group, is studying new forms of biodegradable plastics in a bid to counter plastic pollution.

UQ PhD student Leela Dilkes-Hoffman is studying biodegradable plastics. Credit:Flashpoint Labs, Westpac Scholars

She traces her passion for environmental sustainability back to her upbringing in the bushland of Western Australia.

“I grew up in Margaret River, which is a beautiful part of Western Australia, and I guess there I was a bit sheltered from the amount of waste that we produce in society and where that all needs to go,” Ms Dilkes-Hoffman said.