Food Waste Microplastics with Kate Porterfield and Dr. Eric Roy
\u201cMicroplastics in Composts, Digestates and Food Wastes: A Review\u201d with Kate Porterfield, PhD Candidate at University Vermont and Dr. Eric Roy, Associate Professor at University of Vermont.
Diverting organic materials and food waste from landfills and recycling them for beneficial use in agriculture is a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, intermingled microplastics from packaging and other sources could make these recycled materials less beneficial than they otherwise might be. This episode, Kate and Eric discuss their review paper studying the prevalence of these contaminants, how they\u2019re measured, and how these results intertwine with current policy efforts.
Tune in to learn:
\xb7\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 How microplastics can get into food waste
\xb7\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 How scientists measure microplastics
\xb7\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 Needs for syncing research and policy
\xb7\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0 How factors like weight, density, and mass can impact microplastic measurements
If you would like more information about this topic, this episode\u2019s paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20450
This paper is always freely available.
Contact us at podcast@sciencesocieties.org or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don\u2019t forget to subscribe. If you\u2019d like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/.
If you would like to reach out to Kate, you can find her here:
kporterf@uvm.edu
www.linkedin.com/in/kate-porterfield
https://twitter.com/KatePorterfield
If you would like to reach out to Eric, you can find him here:
Eric.Roy.1@uvm.edu
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ecoeng/
https://twitter.com/ericdroy
If you would like to reach out to Jaya Nepal from our Student Spotlight, you can find him here:
j.nepal@ufl.edu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mejayxoxo18
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mejayxoxo18/
Resources
Nutrient Cycling & Ecological Design Lab @ UVM: https://nced.weebly.com/
\u201cOrganics Recycling Tradeoffs: Biogas Potential and Microplastic Content of Mechanically Depackaged Food Waste\u201d article in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering:\xa0 https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c01710
EPA Emerging Issues in Food Waste Management series: https://search.epa.gov/epasearch/?querytext=emerging+issues+in+food+waste+management&areaname=&areacontacts=&areasearchurl=&typeofsearch=epa&result_template=2col.ftl#/
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