The Waste Advanced Solution Technologies and Ecosystems Lab (WASTE)

WASTE Lab is a multidisciplinary research hub at Northern Illinois University focused on converting diverse waste streams and agricultural residues into high-impact materials, processes, and sustainable deployment pathways. The lab unites two complementary research branches:

• In the Bioplastics Lab, students and researchers compound, mold, and characterize bio-based and biodegradable materials as practical alternatives to conventional plastics, generating performance data that supports real adoption decisions.
• In the Hydrotransport Lab, the team advances experimental and modeling work on pipeline hydro-transport of biomass slurries, with an emphasis on transport feasibility and pipeline behavior relevant to reducing the cost and impacts of overland biomass delivery.

Across both labs, the mission is to turn sustainability into measurable engineering outcomes while training students through hands-on, industry-aligned research experiences.