URIs_MOMENTUM_Research_and_Innovation_Magazine_Spring_2024_M

TACKLING PLASTICS AT URI

written by SHAUN KIRBY ‘07

“Our lives are becoming inundated with micro and nanoplastics. About 30 percent of dementia cases, for example, can be affected by adjusting modifiable factors. Environmental toxins like microplastics are one of those factors.” - Jaime Ross

Chris Gaynor, climate justice specialist, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management , Linda Molnar, p rogram director, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, National Science Foundation (NSF-TIP) , Ebenezer Owusu-Addo, director, Kwame Nkrumah, University of Science and Technology (KNUST) , Ghana Jess Vandenberg, professor, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington photos by Shaun Kirby ‘07

In May 2023, the University of Rhode Island (URI) hosted its inaugural Global Plastics Forum, bringing together more than 80 local, national, and international experts from organizations tackling the impact of plastics throughout the world. The event served as a sounding board for researchers and decision-makers to devise real-world applications for their research and policy around the health and environmental impacts of plastic pollution.

“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.” - BETHANY D. JENKINS

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