---
title: Finding Her ‘Repurpose’
date: 2023-07-06T13:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/finding-her-repurpose"
section: Articles
---
# Finding Her ‘Repurpose’

*July 6, 2023* — by [Emily C. Nunez](/author/emily-c-nunez)


> Entomology Alum’s Startup Works to Protect Farmers and Reduce Plastic Waste

*Remsberg 2112039504 1920x1080 — Krisztina Christmon Ph.D. ’23 has created a company to tackle the problem of agricultural plastic waste (below) by collecting and cleaning it for recycling into new products.*

Growing up in rural Hungary, Krisztina Christmon Ph.D. ’23 always imagined taking over her grandparents’ farm one day.

“They ate what they grew and had a simple, minimalist life,” she recalled fondly. “I spent every summer on their farm, and it was in my genes to be around nature.”

Christmon wanted to return to the farm after college, but her grandfather suffered a fatal accident while burning plastic agricultural waste. By the time she graduated, the farm had been sold, altering her trajectory in life.

Years later, during graduate entomology studies at the University of Maryland, Christmon realized she could honor her grandfather’s memory and support the farming community in a different way: by ensuring farmers never have to burn plastics in the first place.


*shelves of farm plastic*




**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [Entomology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/entomology)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources), [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)