Plastisphere Podcast

We could use your talents on the Aquarium team. Several positions now open -- and a number of paid internships coming open, too. We've also scheduled several virtual and in-person career events, including a virtual event on Feb. 12. Right now we're recruiting for: internships in kelp forest scientific diving, sea otter research, applied water science, and in our electrical shop; a marketing operations manager; a life support systems operator; an exhibition designer; a bilingual interpretive naturalist on our guest experience team; a senior project manager for campus management (term), a project manager for campus management, and a workspace planning manager (term); and a veterinary externship. Follow the link for details: https://lnkd.in/gZ2ZEqk #internships #JobOpenings #hiring #recruitment #ExhibitionDesign #ProjectManagement #electrician #WaterScience #marketing #CampusManagement #WorkspacePlanning #naturalist #bilingual

More Microplastic found in ten different French anonymous brands of bottled water & in Tap Water from Toulouse, than EU detection limits “We found concentrations ranging from 19 to 1,154 MPs (n/L) [0.001 to 0.250 μg/L] compared with municipal tap water at 413 MPs (n/L) [0.096 μg/L] following procedural blank- and recovery corrections.” "The MP concentration in municipal tap water from the Toulouse Metropole, France, was determined at 413 MPs (n/L) [0.096 μg/L] and was higher than 8 out of 10 investigated bottled water brands. These relatively high concentrations may be attributed to the local water treatment process as tap water from this region is sourced by treating surface water from the Garonne river" “In total, n = 17 unique polymer types were identified. The most abundant polymer type detected was polyethylene (PE) which was identified in all samples in concentrations varying from 3.8 to 84.9%, followed by polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyamide 6 (PA6). Although all investigated bottled water variants were stored in PET containers, PET was only detected in 7 out of 10 brands. Notably, in 3 of those 7 brands, the concentration of PET comprised less than 5% of identified MPs, demonstrating that the containers were not significant MP sources. Read: #PlasticsTreaty

🚨 I'm hiring! 🚨 Do you want to lead efforts that drive systemic change toward a circular economy? We’re expanding our team and looking for an experienced Project Manager to join us in Brussels. 🌍 What the role offers: ✅ Lead high-impact projects that help governments, institutions, and cities embrace circular economy policies. ✅ Build and manage relationships with a diverse range of international stakeholders, from policymakers to academics, NGOs, and businesses. ✅ Represent our work at global events and collaborate across teams to create innovative, evidence-based solutions. What we're looking for: 🔹 5+ years’ experience in a policy-related environment 🔹 A proven track record in project management 🔹 Excellent communication and interpersonal skills 🔹 Analytical skills to tackle complex challenges 🔹 Fluency in English; additional language skills are a bonus. The details: 📍 Location: Brussels 💼 Salary: €67k + benefits. 📅 Closing Date: February 14th, 2025 (early applications encouraged). 🔗 Apply now or share with someone who’d be a great fit! https://lnkd.in/eaw7TYp2

Is it true that there's a solid island of #plastic in the ocean, visible from space? Join the Plastic Mythbusters by reading this: https://lnkd.in/e7-JPHYH Coastal Pollution Toolbox Prof. Lesley Henderson Ralf Ebinghaus

Do you have a zero-waste practice in fashion and textiles that’s making a real impact? From innovative business models to sustainable techniques, we’re seeking approaches that deliver positive zero-waste outcomes to highlight on #ZeroWasteDay 2025. Submit your practice by 12 February: https://lnkd.in/dvdV2ryg

More health news about plastics.

Please join me for my upcoming #webinar: "Ultrashort-Chain PFAS: The global threat of trifluoroacetic acid", hosted by the Collaborative for Health Environment - EDC Strategies Partnership When: February 19, 2025 3:00 pm US Eastern Time, 9:00 pm Central European Time Free registration: https://lnkd.in/dHM9P8sT Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is one of the ultrashort-chain perfluoroalkyl acids, a subset of the larger family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). TFA is a degradation product of many refrigerants and is also directly released from industrial products and processes; it is now widespread as a contaminant in the environment. This raises serious concerns about global health and environmental impacts. In this EDC Strategies Partnership webinar, Dr. Hans Peter Arp will discuss a new study, The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA). A review of 43 studies reporting on TFA concentrations was conducted for the new study. Monitoring data was analyzed based on research spanning from the late 1990s to the 2020s. Collectively, these data indicate that TFA exposure is widespread and is increasing. https://lnkd.in/dPY8VbBN Shorter-chain #PFAS have been assumed to be less hazardous than longer-chain PFAS, but that widespread exposures have not been taken into account in making this assessment. They note “TFA’s ubiquitous accumulation in the environment, in particular its observed accumulation in water resources and bioaccumulation in various plants, including crops.” They argue that #TFA poses a planetary boundary threat, based on increasing exposure world-wide, irreversible environmental contamination, and “long-lasting disruptive effects on human health and vital earth system processes.” The authors call for binding actions to reduce emissions of TFA and its precursors.

Plastic energy publishes new LCA to proof that Pyrolysis is better than incineration. May I suggest that their next LCA may answer question whether falling into Skylla was better than falling into Charyptis. Pyrolysis must be compared to recycling and not to incineration. But their reasoning has an inner logic, because Pyrolysis is a subcategory of incineration as it concentrates not on plastic as a material to be preserved but on plastic as a carrier of energy, only a tiny small part of which you can use for making new plastic. Consequently, they guys call their company „Plastic Energy“. They could also have called it „Plastic Material Recovery“. But that is not what they are doing. Just like incineration with energy recovery they recover plastic energy through pyrolysis. Their process is as little recycling as waste incineration with energy recovery is recycling. Both are simply „other recovery“ and rank shoulder to shoulder at the very bottom of the waste hierarchy. The term chemical recycling is a misleading appropriation of terms. I suggest to call pyrolysis a chemical heat consuming recovery process to produce the intermediate pyrolysis oil, which remains to be a waste itself as long as it has not found its way into a final product. This is only the case after the final steam cracking process has been concluded. The process saves no raw materials and is bound to increase the overall quantity of plastic, as you can only feed 5% Tac oil into a steam cracker, diluted with 95% naphta. Raw materials savings are negligeable. Furthermore, the pyrolysis process requires well sorted, clean, homogeneous plastic waste streams, also ideal for mechanical recycling. Pyrolysis is canibalising mechanical recycling. Conclusion: the news is no news, but yet another repetition of misleading claims. https://lnkd.in/d9DRtTb2

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"The responses to plastics have been as fractured as plastics become: proceeding polymer by polymer, chemical by chemical, product by product... place by place, though plastics have always been totalizing [and}... have always been global.” New words on the #plasticstreaty via The Networker, a publication of the Science and Environmental Health Network. Describes the work of RICHARD THOMPSON OBE FRS and colleagues on plastics, as well as the Magnus Løvold and the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. Grateful to SEHN, and to Daniela Durán González, Andres Del Castillo and Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). And in the same issue: contributions on microplastics and "plastics as personal" from Drs. Sandra Steingraber on Ted Schettler! https://lnkd.in/dhATbS7Q