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This study aims to detect how many microplastics and what kind are released from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) Skebäck, in Örebro. The study was limited to the analysis of three filters with 50 μm mesh size and one filter with 300 μm mesh size. The samples were taken at different times, two in the fall of 2019 and one in the spring of 2020. Visual characterization was used for the quantification of microplastics, and a lower and upper bound was used. The lower bound represents particles that were deemed identifiable as plastic with high certainty, while the upper bound also includes particles that may have been microplastic. An additional ATR-FTIR analysis was performed on selected microplastics >300 μm.  The presence of microplastics in the effluent from Skebäcks WWTP could be confirmed. The quantity of microplastics per m​3​ (MP/m​3​) trapped on the 50 μm filters were quantified in a range between 0 MP/m​3​ to 291 MP/m​3​ for the lower bound, and 72 MP/m​3​ to 435 MP/m​3​ for the upper bound. The 300 μm filter had considerably less microplastics than the 50 μm filter with 1.8 MP/m​3​. The quantification of fibers on the 50 μm filter and 300 μm filters was not possible due to high blank contaminations. According to the concentration of 63 MP/m​3​ of the lower bound count on the 50 μm filters and the amount of water flowing through Skebäck in 2019, 17 818 935 m​3​, 1.1 billion microplastic particles were released into Svartån that year. In comparison the highest value of the upper bound count, 435 MP/m​3​, gave a release of 7.7 billion microplastic particles. Using the concentration of the 300 μm filter 1.8 MP/m​3​, 32 million microplastics/year were released from Skebäck in 2019. The amount of spheres 50-300 μm released in the effluent from Skebäck was estimated to be 3.7 kg in 2019.

This thesis project is exploring and investigates the applications of different methods of reward and nudging strategies and their potential effect on motivating and directing people’s behavior to be more engaged in recycling as a social movement within the society of Saudi Arabia. By creating sustainable behaviors, we contribute to the solutions and help minimize the potential damage of plastic pollution. The designs created throughout this thesis as prototypes of different concepts test the effectiveness of the different strategies on the behaviors of the population in Saudi Arabia. The main findings demonstrated that for people to steer their behavior toward recycling, they need to be financially rewarded. Testing other nudging strategies showed that these strategies might not be as powerful as the traditional system of reward and punishment. Therefore, this project needs to be further investigated and iterated in cooperation with other stakeholders and designers from different fields.

Since the 2018 Chinese plastic waste import ban, the global plastic waste trade has been increasingly problematized, especially considering the correlated global environmental issue of marine plastic pollution. Therefore, governance approaches are required to curb marine plastic pollution and regulate the plastic waste trade to prevent situations of “waste dumping” in Global South countries. This thesis will examine the connection between the 2019 changes Basel Convention as a global governance approach and the tendency of Southeast Asian countries to implement import regulations due to an increase in plastic waste exports to the region and resulting environmental concerns.  The empirical context of both plastic problems and the central theoretical concepts of waste distancing and environmental justice associated with a postcolonial, environmental theory approach are discussed in the literature review. The 2019 changes to the Basel Convention will be first examined with a content analysis and then the changing international context resulting in national import regulations will be studied with a process-tracing approach focused on the cases of Malaysia and Thailand. To conclude the Basel Convention provided a regulative framework for certain plastic waste imports and can also be related to the Southeast Asian countries’ response of repatriating illegal imports.

The incomplete degradation of bio-based and biodegradable plastics (BBPs) in soils causes multiple threats to soil quality, human health, and food security. Plastic residuals can interact with soil microbial communities. We aimed to link the structure and enzyme-mediated functional traits of a microbial community composition that were present during poly (butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate (PBSA) decomposition in soil with (PSN) and without (PS) the addition of nitrogen fertilizer ((NH4 )2SO4 ). We identified bacterial (Achromobacter, Luteimonas, Rhodanobacter, and Lysobacter) and fungal (Fusarium, Chaetomium, Clonostachys, Fusicolla, and Acremonium) taxa that were linked to the activities of ß-glucosidase, chitinase, phosphatase, and lipase in plastic-amended soils. Fungal biomass increased by 1.7 and 4 times in PS and PSN treatment, respectively, as compared to nonplastic amended soil. PBSA significantly changed the relationships between soil properties (C: N ratio, TN, and pH) and microbial community structure; however, the relationships between fungal biomass and soil enzyme activities remained constant. PBSA significantly altered the relationship between fungal biomass and acid phosphatase. We demonstrated that although the soil functions related to nutrient cycling were not negatively affected in PSN treatment, potential negative effects are reasoned by the enrichment of plant pathogens. We concluded that in comparison to fungi, the bacteria demonstrated a broader functional spectrum in the BBP degradation process

Plastic pollution is one of if not the biggest threat against earth’s ecosystems. Almost 400 million tons of plastic is produced every year and most of it is discarded outside of the recycling systems. Marine ecosystems are extra exposed due to microplastics which are plastic smaller than 5 mm. The most common type of plastic is PET. Plastic in general is very chemically stable and hard to degrade but scientists have found a bacterium named I.sakaiensis that can degrade PET with a two-enzyme system called PETase and MHETase. Due to being exo-enzymes, they have to be secreted to function, the thermostability of these enzymes are very low so most research has been focused on increasing the thermal stability with its enzyme activity. This report focuses on what structures are important for the PET degrading ability of MHETas and PETas and how they can be applied to cleaning marine ecosystems. A key to solving environmental issues is creating environmentally aware students through the education system. Studies about Context based education have indicated that it sparks motivation and interest in students and the lessons seem more relevant. This report is also about how context-based education can be used to create an environmental perspective in secondary education.

This study examines the relationship between proposed desalination plants and increased plastic pollution along the Texas Gulf Coast. It specifically focuses on their expected impact on communities in the area and was conducted for Society of Native Nations. The goal was to gather information about environmental ideologies and experiences from different environmental experts and scientists to educate community members and inform policy recommendations. The study relied on semi structured interviews and archival research to understand how environmental experts and scientists envision the future, how they interpret the impact of desalination plants as related to plastic pollution. Ideas that guided this research include decolonial methodologies, political ecology, Indigenous research agendas, environmental justice and knowledge, cultural hybridity, and the anthropology of the borderlands. This research provides actionable steps and recommendations to improve environmental education in Texas Gulf Coast communities on the U.S./Mexico border and to reduce plastic pollution in order to ensure that these communities have ample amounts of water supply without relying on desalination plants.

In this thesis project I try to make visible the complex problems behind the plastic pollution crisis, the skewed ideas of synthetic plastic and recycling we as consumers are taught, and in what way architecture can help make these systems visible. This is achived through a design method of growth and transformation using plastic waste to create a building that uncovers what would otherwise not bee seen.

Microplastics are an emerging environmental contaminant. One of the ways microplastics can get into the environment is by the breakdown of larger plastics. These plastics can come from industrial practices, discarded fabrics, agriculture, and general plastic waste. As these plastics are broken down microplastics leach into the environment. The widespread use of plastics has resulted in the spread of microplastic contaminants all over the world. Microplastics have been reported to be in drinking water, so this paper is looking at the presence of microplastics in local communities of different demographics and socioeconomic statuses. In other studies of different drinking water contamination, minority, and low-income communities had worse quality water. In this paper, methods for sampling, extraction, and analysis with Laser Direct Infrared Spectroscopy were used. Out of Cities A, B, and C, City A, with the largest population, higher percentage of minorities, and worse off socioeconomic status, had the highest particle count. More research is needed in this field to find how socioeconomic status can affect exposure to microplastic contamination.

This project deals with the concepts of care, contentedness and self-reflection in light of the ecological plights that face our planet and the way that my artistic practice reflects this. It achieves this by focusing on marine forms of plastic pollution along Cape Town’s coastline as well as on the water resources during Cape Town’s water crisis that started in 2017. To unite these areas of interest, the conceptual platform and the visual associations of “a low tide” were used to navigate material and practical considerations of my chosen alternative photographic media and how they can best address such interests. / Art and Music / M.V.A.