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Cambridge Prisms: Plastics is the first international journal covering science and policy topics that underpin the nexus between plastics, human and environmental health, environmental justice, and human rights. Join us for engaging discussions, interactive Q&A sessions, and opportunities to connect with peers and thought leaders in the field!
For a full list of upcoming webinars, please visit our seminar page here.
Speaker: Dr Bárbara Rani Borges
Date: 20th of February 2025
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: Microplastics pollution is a widely recognized issue, although significant analytical challenges remain to be overcome in order to achieve a more comprehensive ecological understanding. The complex nature of this pollutant, with its variable physical and chemical properties, presents considerable challenges when it comes to establishing standardized methods for studying it. One crucial factor that influences its toxicity is particle size, yet even this parameter lacks a well-established framework, especially in the case of nanoplastics. Although the size range limits are already proposed in the literature, where the most acceptable values for microplastics are from 1 to 5,000 μm and for nanoplastics are from 1 to 1,000 nm, we propose narrowing these limits to 0.1–1,000 μm and 10–100 nm, respectively. We based our discussion on conceptual terminology, polymer structure and toxicity, highlighting the significance of accurately defining their size range. The standardization of these limits will allow the development of more efficient approaches to studying this pollutant, enabling a comprehensive understanding of its ecological consequences and potential risks.
Speaker: Dr Elliot Woolley
Date: 19th of March 2025
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: Single use plastic packaging is widely accepted to cause significant negative environmental impacts. One option to reduce these impacts is to develop commercially viable and socially acceptable reuse systems. Such closed loop packaging systems require careful consideration of reverse (or circular) logistics, financial modelling, and quality control (fulfilling legal requirements and ethical obligations). One of the most prominent barriers to the concept of reusable packaging for food is safety, dictated by challenges of effective cleaning and pack integrity assessment. This talk will explore the potential of a new, real-time, non-contact technique that routinely allows assessment of the cleanliness and integrity of packaging surface surfaces following cleaning. Ultraviolet induced fluorescence of fluorophores within foodstuffs (e.g. within proteins) and polymers enables the rapid detection of residual fouling and pack degradation. The talk will highlight the future challenges of reliable high speed quality assurance as well as other economic and logistical challenges facing the reusable packaging industry.
Speakers: Victoria Prowse, Helen Powers and Kofi Renner
Date: 24th of April 2025
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: Plastics have benefited society, but their environmental impact has caused concerns since the 1970s. By the year 2050, plastic production is predicted to reach 26,000 million tonnes and generate 13,000 million tonnes of waste. Plastic in the environment impacts living organisms with short to long-term consequences. To address this, governmental policies, advocacy and recycling have been implemented with varying success. Environmental education plays an important role in mitigating some impacts of plastic pollution. Upcycling discarded plastics in artwork supports that endeavour. The art installation “Regulated Exhibition – The Plastic Human”, a collaboration between BACKLIT gallery, Joshua Sofaer and the Environment Agency, brought the artworld and environmental advocacy together, to inspire discussions on the narrative of plastic pollution. To bring the project to life BACKLIT gallery was turned into a factory where audience members could explore and interact with the installation. The exhibition was free, open to all and accessible to diverse demographics within Nottingham. The interactive exhibition provoked visitors’ senses and provided a feedback mechanism. The “Plastic Human” reflected the impacts of plastic pollution in our environment. Addressing plastic pollution is thought to cause a philosophical and/or ethical burden on humans. The measured and qualitative impact of this could impact our daily lives.
Speaker: Dr. Fulya Dal Yöntem
Date: 14th of May 2025
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: Mitochondria are unique organelles to perform critical functions such as energy production, lipid oxidation, calcium homeostasis, and steroid hormone synthesis in eukaryotic cells. The proper functioning of mitochondria is crucial for cellular survival, homeostasis, and bioenergetics. Mitochondrial structure and function are maintained by the mitochondrial quality control system, which consists of the processes of mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics (fusion/fission), mitophagy, and mitochondrial unfolded protein response UPRMT. Mitochondrial dysfunction and/or damage is associated with the initiation and progression of several human diseases, including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, age-related diseases, diabetes, and cancer. Environmental stress and contaminants may exacerbate the sensitivity of mitochondria to damage which causes mitochondrial dysfunction. There is growing evidence about the impact of nanoplastics (NPs) and microplastics (MPs) on mitochondrial health and function. MPs/NPs were reported to trigger oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species production, which eventually change mitochondrial membrane potential. MPs/NPs can cross through the biological barriers in the human body and be internalized by the cells, potentially altering mitochondrial dynamics, bioenergetics, and signaling pathways, thus impacting cellular metabolism and function. This talk states the effects of MPs/NPs on mitochondrial homeostasis and function as well as on mitochondrial membrane dynamics, mitophagy, and mitochondrial apoptosis.
Speakers: Professor Steve Fletcher, Dr Andy Booth, Dr Lizzie Fuller, Dr Karen Raubenheimer, Mr Peter Manyara
Date: 22nd of January 2025
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: Debate on the Science-Policy Interface for Plastic Pollution
Speaker: Dr Andy Booth
Date: 21st of January 2025
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: Environmental plastic pollution comprises partially degraded particles representing a continuum of sizes, shapes, polymer types and chemical compositions. Owing to their potential for biological uptake, small microplastic particles (sMP; <100 μm) and nanoplastics (NPs) are considered to be a potential risk to organisms. Understanding how sMPs and NPs behave in the environment, and how environmental matrices affect their detection, is fundamental to quantifying exposures, assessing hazards and understanding these risks. For this purpose, highquality, well-characterised and environmentally relevant test and reference materials are crucial. The current lack of environmentally relevant sMP and NP reference materials has resulted in many studies applying commercially available spherical, homogenous and monodisperse particles, typically produced for specific purposes and without environmental relevance. There is a need for sMP and NP test/reference materials for fate and effects assessments and analytical protocol validation that more accurately represent the sMP and NP present in the environment. To date, feasible methods for producing relevant sMP and NP test materials in sufficient quantities for environmental fate and effects studies remain lacking. The current review provides an overview and comparison of the available methods, highlighting those that show the most promise for producing environmentally relevant sMP and NP with further development and optimisation.
Speaker: Dr Louise Dennis
Date: 21st of November 2024
Event: Please find a link to the event here.
Scope: The appreciation or reception of materials can create a positive or a negative reaction in the user and an individual’s understanding of materials comes from their own experiential knowledge, influence of others, and cultural perception. The condemnation of the overuse of plastics materials and their impact on the environment when they become waste has, understandably, meant that today the cultural perception of plastics is largely that they are cheap, rubbish, throw away—all bad news. This position of negativity has been reached because we currently see the mismanagement of plastics waste as it blows about in the wind; we see it as rubbish in our streets, and as detritus in the oceans. However, our relationships with the material family, over the time they have existed, have had a varied and turbulent history with different perspectives generated by different people at different times. This article will briefly explore ‘a’, rather than ‘the’, history of the use of plastics with the aim of putting the current societal relationship with them into context.
Date: Held on 19th April 2024 2:00 PM (UK time) / 9:00 AM (EST)
Scope:
This inaugural webinar event for Cambridge Prisms: Plastics will explore the use of plastics in agriculture; agriplastics, and the broader use of plastics in various aspects of agriculture, including crop production, soil management, irrigation, and protection of crops; plasticulture.
Our Panel of leading experts with diverse experience and perspectives will explore the complexities of plastic in agriculture. More specifically, this event will examine its trade-offs, advantages, global impact, policy implications, and new sustainable alternatives.
Plasticulture has revolutionised agriculture and its practices, whilst raising critical questions about environmental sustainability, social equity, and long-term viability.
Can new technologies and new materials offer solutions for this industry that meet all stakeholders needs while promoting human health and ensuring equitable access to sustainable livelihoods?
Chair: Steve Fletcher - The University of Portsmouth, UK
Panel: Samuel Cusworth - Lancaster University, UK ; Monica Ferreira Da Costa - Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brasil ; Luca Nizzetto - Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Norway ; Bernard Le Moine - APE Europe, France
Recording: The recording of the event can be viewed here.