Jaime Ross, assistant professor in URI’s George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, details her latest research on microplastics and brain health at the 2023 Global Plastics Forum, held at URI this past May.
Earlier this month, URI Plastics: Land to Sea investigators were interviews by reporters from WPRI 12 about their research on microplastics. J.P. Walsh, professor of oceanography and chair of the Coastal Resources Institute, and Victoria Fulfer, a Ph.D. candidate at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, detailed their latest publication on how microplastics are accumulating in sediments throughout Narragansett Bay.
Jaime Ross, assistant professor in URI’s George and Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, also explained her latest research on how microplastics could impact human brain health.
Plastics: Land to Sea initiative organizing discussions to spur local collaborations, further research
URI researchers are discovering the impacts of plastic pollution throughout its most important body of water, Narragansett Bay.
KINGSTON, R.I.—September 25, 2023 – Plastics, ranging from tiny, decades-old molecules to large piles of waste, have infiltrated every aspect of human and environmental systems worldwide. Despite current scientific understanding, several challenges remain for researchers and policymakers alike to implement effective strategies for reducing the consequences of plastic pollution in our communities.
This fall and spring, the URI Plastics initiative is hosting, “Empowering Plastics Solutions,” a series of discussions aimed at sharing information and novel approaches, as well as identifying potential collaborations, among faculty, students, and community and industry partners.
During these talks, experts and URI community members will explore:
Learning from the Past: Discover how insights from history can guide us toward equitable solutions for tackling plastic pollution in the future.
Community-Centric Solutions: Explore ways to create fair and effective responses to plastic pollution challenges in various communities.
Ecosystem Insights: Gain an understanding of the life cycle of plastics in different ecosystems and how we can reduce their impact.
Circular Solutions: Find out about exciting new approaches to plastic production and management, all within the framework of a circular economy.
These insightful conversations are a prelude to a larger workshop scheduled for next May. Through these efforts, URI’s Plastics initiative seeks to inspire fresh avenues for future research and secure funding from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as private funding sources.
Rebecca Altman, a writer, sociologist and daughter of a former plastics maker, a URI chemical engineering alum, will start with the series on Thursday, October 12, 5:30-7 pm at the Higgins Welcome Center. She now holds a PhD in environmental sociology from Brown University and writes about plastics (as well as PFAS) history for the public whose work focuses on the history of plastics and its environmental legacy. For a full schedule and more information about the seminar series, visit the Seminar Series.
About the URI Plastics initiative
The URI Plastics Initiative is coordinating research efforts with several faculty and students to investigate the impacts of plastic pollution (links) and find alternative solutions to this global challenge (links).
Dr. Vinka Oyanedel-Craver, director of the URI Plastics initiative and professor of civil and environmental engineering, describes the initiative as, “An effort to coordinate the vast knowledge and research expertise at URI with local, national and international stakeholders to build research capacity to address this global challenge.”
In May 2023, URI hosted its inaugural Global Plastics Forum, bringing together over 100 local, national and international experts from organizations tackling the impact of plastics. URI’s Plastics: Land to Sea initiative has provided more than $200,000 to seven interdisciplinary faculty teams collaborating with local stakeholders to conduct research to help to address the plastic pollution challenges.
“We can’t solve the plastic problem by ourselves, and we have seen the commitment at the University of Rhode Island to advancing our thinking on this topic, regionally and across the United States,” said Bethany Jenkins, interim vice-president of Research and Economic Development at URI. “I am excited that we can foster these conversations and ideas.”
As a direct outcome of the forum, the URI Plastics initiative is launching this seminar series with key national stakeholders.
“When it comes to policy and management, inequity exists,” says Yoshitaka Ota, director of The Ocean Nexus Center, a research initiative applying equity principles for positive policy change around marine management that has recently relocated to URI. “We need to have a discussion about dignity, which is the center of policy in our governments because we work for the people.”
Nineteenth-century industrial plastics, though derived from natural sources like cellulose or latex, foreshadowed contemporary concerns, posing significant implications for human health, human rights, and the environment. Then, as now, plastics relied on toxic solvents and additives, as well as exploitative raw material extraction, which led to occupational and community hazards, displacement, resource depletion, human rights violations and deforestation.
Writer and sociologist Dr.Rebecca Altman‘s talk, “Then As Now: How Plastics Histories Can Inform Present Efforts to Reduce Future Plastic Pollution,” is the first of the “Empowering Plastics Solutions” seminar series, organized by URI Plastics: Land to Sea. This discussion will bring this little-known history to bear on contemporary policy efforts to reduce the evolutionary and planetary pressures plastics presently exert.
Altman(she/her) is the daughter of a former plastics maker, a URI chemical engineering alum. She now holds a PhD in environmental sociology from Brown University and writes about plastics (as well as PFAS) history for the public. Recent essays have appeared in Science, The Atlantic,The Washinton Post, and Aeon Magazine. She also has guest-edited a series of four acclaimed essays on plastics and petrochemistry for the environmental literary magazine, Orion. Rebecca lives in Providence, serves on the Board of Directors of the Science and Environmental Health Network, and is finishing work on her first book, The Song of Styrene: An Intimate History of Plastics, to be published by Scribner Books and Oneworld (UK).
As one of the world’s leading companies in the bioplastics sector, Novamont provides information on different types of bioplastics, how they are manufactured and which applications they are currently being used. The team will share end of life solutions for some of these materials such as industrial composting and their role in helping to divert municipal food waste from landfill to composting and how this can help alleviate global warming and increase soil health. Plus, learn about new developments on advanced recycling and what happens if they are leaked into the environment.
Novamont emphasizes the importance of collaborations in their work across the supply chain from the upstream farmers and material manufacturers to the downstream consumer brands and retailers. They will provide some working examples where policy can have an impact on these types of materials and reference the Whitehouse Executive order on ‘Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bio-economy’ and the impact on future job creation.
Paul joined Novamont in 2015 as the UK & Ireland Area Manager before transferring to the Novamont North American division in 2018 based in Connecticut as VP of Marketing. His responsibilities include new application development of the Mater-Bi bioplastics product line working closely throughout the supply chain from converters to brand owners plus also municipalities and the waste management sector.
Paul also represents Novamont on the BPI (Biodegradable Plastics Institute) board of Directors and previously on the advisory board of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastic’s Economy.
He has prior experience working in water treatment, paper manufacturing and plastics applications for global specialty chemical companies plus has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Liverpool.
Dan Martens is the North American VP for Novamont, a global leader in the research and production of biopolymers. Novamont, headquartered in Novara, Italy is a certified B Corporation ranked in the top 4% globally, and has been awarded the “Best for the World” designation for the last two years. Novamont North America is headquartered in Shelton, CT. Dan consults with food scrap collections with the cities of New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. He has assisted California and Washington State regarding policy. As part of the NRDC Food Matters program in 2019, Novamont hosted 5 U.S. cities on a tour of Northern Italy food waste prevention, collections and processing systems. Dan serves on the following boards: Canadian Compost Council, BPI, PIA – Bioplastics (Chair). Dan serves as an advisory board member to SCRI, a USDA-funded 5-year study of plastics in agriculture with Washington State, Nebraska State, and the University of Tennessee. He was invited to be a team member with Canadian federal level workgroups with the Ministry of Environment in Ontario and the ECCC. Additionally, Dan enjoys volunteering as founding Board Member with PCCI (Park City Composting Initiative), a UConn Master Composter and with his local Town Sustainability Group.
Inaugural seed grant program will fund six collaborative projects to ‘address plastic pollution on a global scale’
Jaime Ross, assistant professor at the George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience within the college of pharmacy, will continue research on the impact of microplastics in the human body, focusing on their potential contribution to Alzheimer’s disease. (URI photo/Shaun Kirby)
KINGSTON, R.I. – Sept. 15, 2023 – The University of Rhode Island’s Plastics: Land to Sea initiative announced today over $200,000 in funding to six faculty research projects that will help to address the challenges posed by plastic pollution globally.
“The selection of these six projects for funding serves as a testament to URI’s diverse range of expertise in the field of plastics pollution,” said Dr. Vinka Oyanedel-Craver, director of the URI Plastics Initiative and professor and associate dean of research at URI’s College of Engineering. “Notably, faculty members from five colleges—business, engineering, environment and life sciences, pharmacy, and health sciences—will receive support, facilitating cutting-edge research that will generate crucial information for the development of sustainable and equitable approaches to address plastic pollution on a global scale.”
Fishing gear such as nets, rope, lines, buoys and traps, most of which is made from plastic, can be lost, abandoned or discarded at sea. The resulting debris, also known as ghost gear, litters our seas and breaks down into smaller pieces, adding to the problems created by plastics and microplastics. Removal of ghost gear is costly, challenging and, in the US, largely coordinated by nonprofits or volunteers. Laura Ludwig, director of the Center for Coastal Studies’ Marine Debris & Plastic Program, is a key player organizing teams of commercial fishermen, artists and volunteers to address the issue. She will join us on 3/7 in the Higgins Welcome Center and present a talk on the impacts, removal, and repurposing of plastic marine debris including fishing gear, consumer debris, and storm-created infrastructure debris, and will share some innovative partnerships with artists who leverage the materials to create beautiful works of art to bring about awareness.
“Over the course of nearly twenty years spent removing abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear from the ocean, I’ve come to understand the value of collaborating with commercial fishermen, researchers, managers and recycling companies. Add artists to that list, and now you’ve got the best and highest use of otherwise unusable material. ”
Laura Ludwig, director of the Marine Debris & Plastics Program at the Center for Coastal Studies, focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to investigate and respond to abandoned, lost, discarded or end-of-life fishing gear, beach debris, microplastics, and other marine plastic debris issues. Since beginning the program in 2012, she has grown a 400-person volunteer “Beach Brigade” which supports an active year-round shoreline cleanup and debris data collection effort on Cape Cod.
Laura has directed at-sea fishing gear removal and recycling programs in Maine and Massachusetts since 2009, working with hundreds of commercial lobstermen, shellfishermen, and other fishermen to properly dispose of thousands of lost, abandoned or discarded lobster traps and more than 90 tons of fishing gear debris, including fixed, mobile and aquaculture gear recovered from the ocean floor.
Since 2006, Laura has worked as a “debris broker”, providing hundreds of tons of old or discarded rope, nets, and other plastic beach debris to craftsmen and artists who re-purpose the material, diverting it from the waste stream to be used in sculpture, artwork or doormats.
Laura has presented on her work at state, regional and international conferences, including the 5th, 6th and 7th International Marine Debris Conferences in 2011 (Honolulu), 2018 (San Diego) and 2022 (Busan, South Korea). She regularly presents on fishing gear, marine debris and plastics issues and consults regionally on municipal plastic reduction initiatives.
Join URI and 5 Gyres Institute on World Water Day (March 22 at 12PM) for a virtual panel discussion with leading experts to discuss innovative solutions. Microfiber pollution from textiles is pervasive in ecosystems around the world, found in habitats, wildlife, and increasingly in our own bodies. In late March 2024, join The 5 Gyres Institute and URI in a discussion on innovative solutions, and the collaboration that is needed to address microfiber pollution. To learn more about practical steps and access to resources and virtual events, sign up for the 5 Gyres’ pledge!
University of Rhode Island’s Seray Ergene (right) listens during a working group session at the 2023 Global Plastics Forum. Photo by Shaun Kirby
At the 2023 Global Plastics Forum, organized by the University of Rhode Island’s Plastics: Land to Sea initiative on May 15-16, 2023, local, national and global stakeholders gathered into working groups focused around three key topics–Sustainable textiles, developing international research networks, and centering equity and justice in marine plastics research.
The working groups were tasked with developing reports to track ideas and potential collaborations within these research topics. Visit the working group homepage for more information about this work post-forum.
Neuroscience, Pharmacy Professor Jaime Ross’ study finds ‘widespread’ infiltration, potential for serious health consequences, including Alzheimer’s
KINGSTON, R.I. — Aug. 30, 2023 — Plastics—in particular, microplastics—are among the most pervasive pollutants on the planet, finding their way into the air, water systems and food chains around the world. While the prevalence of microplastics in the environment is well known—as are their negative impacts on marine organisms—few studies have examined the potential health impacts on mammals, prompting University of Rhode Island Professor Jaime Ross’ new study.
Ross and her team focused on neurobehavioral effects and inflammatory response to exposure to microplastics, as well as the accumulation of microplastics in tissues, including the brain. They have found that the infiltration of microplastics was as widespread in the body as it is in the environment, leading to behavioral changes, especially in older test subjects.
First study of its kind shows prevalence of microplastics in the Bay; URI researchers also show their harmful effects
KINGSTON, R.I. – Aug. 30, 2023 – Two University of Rhode Island researchers estimate that the top 5 centimeters (2 inches) of the floor of Narragansett Bay now contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics, and that buildup has occurred in just the last 10 to 20 years.
This news is likely to stun generations of Rhode Islanders who have gotten their first taste of ocean life at the shoreline. From Oakland Beach to Salty Brine Beach, a Rhode Island child’s introduction to the ocean often happens first at the water’s edge, with a pail and a shovel, digging at the tide line.
URI researchers were surprised by the amount of microplastic storage taking place in Narragansett Bay.
It’s a pretty picture, but what are they digging up?
A new study published by the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography is giving state residents, and the future generation of beachgoers, a clearer picture of what exactly is being found in Narragansett Bay.
