Plastic Justice International Seminar

Introduction text about the Seminar on 8 February 2021

Plastic is a fantastic material that has revolutionised production since the 60s. Lightweight and cheap to produce it has made it is way into almost any sort of application imaginable. Today it is virtually everywhere, whether we want it there or not. Unintended plastic pollution has proven to be a persistent problem in our ecosystems and now even in our bodies.

Plastic Justice Actions is an online seminar that will provide an introduction to the topic of Micro-plastics for anybody interested in diving into this topic. Top researchers in the field will describe the effect micro-plastics have on the environment and human health. Different actors will showcase current actions taken to tackle the micro-plastic challenge from NGOs, companies, and European regulation.

This seminar is the official kick-off for the Plastic Justice Erasmus + project.

Full programme

• Introduction
• 14:00 – 14:30 Welcome and introduction. Lauren Alexander and Niels Schrader, Plastic Justice Project, in conversation with Alice Twemlow, Design and the Deep Future.
• 14:30 – 14:55 What are micro-plastics? Madhuri Prabhakar, Plastic Soup Foundation. Including Q&A.

Effects

• 15:00 –15:20 What are the effects of micro-plastics on the environment? Martin Thiel, Universidad Católica del Norte, Department of Marine Biology.
• 15:20 – 15:40 What are the effects of micro-plastics on human health? Dr. Heather Leslie, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Dept. of Environment and Health and Dr. Raymond Pieters, Associate Professor Immunotoxicology, Utrecht University.
• 15:40 – 15:50 Short panel and Q&A about the effects of micro-plastics. All participants of the Effects block in conversation with Isabel Ordóñez. Plastic Justice Project.

Micro-plastics Counter-culture 1

• 16:00 – 16:10 Micro-plastics in EU policy. Ms Hanna-Kaisa Torkkeli, European Chemicals Agency.
• 16:10 – 16:20 Bringing the micro-plastic science to social sectors. David León, HyT (Hombre y Territorio). Libera project.
• 16:20 – 16:30 Upcycling the Ocean. Irene Diez, Fundación Ecoalf.
• 16:30 – 16:40 Intercepting micro-plastics with the Bubble Barrier. Philip Ehrhorn, Chief Technology Officer, Co-founder, the Great Bubble Barrier.
• 16:40 – 16:55 Panel discussion and Q&A. All participants of the Counterculture block 1 in conversation with Isabel Ordóñez, Plastic Justice project.

Break – 5 minutes
Micro-plastics Counter-culture 2

• 17:00 – 17:10 Proplast, plastic collection and recycling in Senegal. Jean-Francois Fillaut, Proplast.
• 17:10 – 17:20 Precious Plastics: trendy plastic recycling. Mattia, Precious Plastics.
• 17:20 – 17:30 The importance of Design Activism. Anthony Burrill, Graphic Artist.
• 17:30 – 17:45 Panel discussion and Q&A. All participants of the Counterculture block 2 in conversation with Raul Goñi, Plastic Justice project.
• 17:45 – 18:00 Wrap up summary / what next. Plastic Justice team members Niels Schrader & Lauren Alexander.

*Programme subject to change.