Single-use plastic packaging waste is overflowing the Earth’s surface, releasing mi- croplastics that contaminate our food. This poses serious threats and concerns to food safety and security. The project aims to raise public awareness about the issue of microplastic con- tamination in the food system. It will use friendly visual language to help people understand how plastic waste from local recycling stations can end up back on their plates and in their bodies. The outcome of the project is a dining workshop that explores the journey of microplastics into the food system. Visual elements and dishes are used as tools to connect partic- ipants with this complex issue. This enables the audience to learn, think critically and reflect on their daily plastic consumption habits. It inspires them to take responsibility and makea change towards reducing plastic waste. Currently, there is no clear scientific literature on whether there is a potential risk to humans associated with exposure to microplastics in food.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution is a global ongoing issue in freshwater ecosystems. The threat of MPs has only recently been recognized and research is needed to better understand how widespread this threat is. Plastic litter is the ultimate source of MPs and we might therefore expect MPs to be a greater threat in areas of high human use. To improve our understanding of how MPs pollution might vary with human land use, we will survey for MPs in freshwater streams. To find the variation of land use this study would be sampling three major types of streams: forested, urban, and agricultural. MPs will be sampled from three streams in each landscape using 1 L grab samples. The freshwater will be filtered and MPs in each landscape will be compared using ANOVA. Each stream site will be sampled five times for a total of forty-five grab samples. The samples will take place in early spring, and sampling after a storm will be avoided to prevent bias data. The results of the project will improve our understanding of where MPs are a potential threat in East Tennessee, as well as our broader understanding of how human activity influences the distribution of this threat.