Lead institution:
Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB) – Brazil
This initiative aims to implement environmental education, plastic recycling, market development, life cycle analysis, and microplastic prediction to support government policies and achieve sustainable waste management.
The actions proposed in this project are: environmental awareness and education; strengthening of plastic recycling chain; development of new markets for 3 kinds of plastic products targeted by the project (PPTP), including microplastic; critical evaluation by life cycle analysis (LCA) and circular economy of reusable, biodegradable and/or other alternative material class for the 3 PPTP; and a study to predict microplastic generation rate over the years, based on accelerated photodegradation data in an artificial marine environment and the amount of plastic waste found at urban beaches.
All the proposed actions seek to support national government policy decisions; to critically evaluate the alternatives and solutions proposed around the world for marine plastic litter; to research and disseminate new markets for plastic waste; to assure sustainable socio-economic insertion of waste pickers into the municipal solid waste management; and to contribute for higher education excellence.
Start Date: 16/01/2023
End Date: 31/01/2026
Lead Contact: Amelia Santos (amelia.santos@academico.ufpb.br)