Major funding received for plastic pollution project in Indonesia
Success for Leeds' researchers in major GCRF award to tackle global plastic pollution.
Earlier this week, UKRI announced a major GCRF award to tackle global plastic pollution - the Reducing the Impacts of Plastic Waste in Developing Countries programme. The University of Leeds won funding to work with partners in Indonesia. The nation has inadequate waste collection services, with around only 39 percent of waste being collected and disposed of properly.
Dr Costas Velis - an expert in plastic pollution and solid waste management, in the School of Civil Engineering at Leeds - said: “Indonesia is a dynamically developing nation. There is a challenge with waste management systems, such as lack of waste collection services, and a great reliance on plastic packaging, and that all comes together to generate plastic pollution problems.
“Not only is it damaging the environment - it could also impact on Indonesia's reputation as a popular and beautiful tourist destination."
Indonesia is a dynamically developing nation. There is a challenge with waste management systems, such as lack of waste collection services, and a great reliance on plastic packaging, and that all comes together to generate plastic pollution problems.
The co-investigator at Leeds is Dr Gordon Mitchell, Associate Professor in the School of Geography.
The Plastic pollution project in Indonesia is being led by Brunel University London with support from industry partner SYSTEMIQ and academics in Indonesia, the University of Plymouth and Leeds. Scientists at Leeds have developed cutting-edge expertise in the modelling of the way plastic flows through economies, identifying where plastic becomes waste – and how much of that is properly treated and how much ends up being discarded, ending up as pollution on land or in the seas.
Earlier this year, Dr Velis's research team was part of a major international study that for the first time quantified the staggering amount of plastic - nearly 1.4 billion tonnes – that is projected to flow into the seas over the period from 2016 to 2040 unless action is taken.
They have also published details of measures that could reduce plastic pollution.
Further information
Top picture: Pixabay.
Research spotlight – Tracking the flow of plastic pollution
