UB’s New York State Center for Plastics Recycling Research and Innovation hosts first New York state microplastics summit

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Leaders in microplastics research and relevant stakeholders from across New York state recently gathered for the Microplastics Summit hosted by the New York State Center for Plastics Recycling Research and Innovation at UB.

The summit, whose purpose was collaboration to address microplastics issues that impact the state, took place at UB’s Center for Tomorrow from June 5-7. The agenda included panels, discussions and activities related to microplastics pollution. It kicked off with a screening of a new documntary focused on microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes, "Ripples of Plastic,” and a discussion with film director Chris Langer.

"Plastic pollution is a growing concern for the environment, human health, wildlife conservation, and environmental justice, with microplastics an emerging contaminant of concern in New York, the U.S., and the globe," said Amit Goyal, principal investigator and director of the New York State Center for Plastics Recycling Research and Innovation at UB and SUNY Distinguished Professor and SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

In 2022, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) awarded UB $4.5 million to create the New York State Center for Plastics Recycling and Innovation Research. The center is based on convergence research and brings together faculty from a wide range of disciplines. It also incorporates input from practitioners in the recycling industry and DEC employees who are interested in developing secondary recyclable markets and streamlining the recycling process. 

“New York state’s continued partnership with the Center for Plastics Recycling Research and Innovation is working to solve some of our most pressing waste reduction and recycling challenges,” said Gary Feinland, section supervisor of waste reduction and recycling outreach and education at the Bureau of Waste Reduction and Recycling for DEC. “New York state’s first state-wide microplastic summit brought together a broad range of interested parties and research scientists to work together to identify challenges and discuss solutions to address microplastics in the environment.”

Microplastics enter the environment from the breakdown of macroplastics that often come from packaging and containers or are directly released from cosmetics, synthetic fibers on clothing, automobile tires, industrial processes, packaging and more. The UB center supports ongoing research in eight task areas, each focused on different aspects of the plastics pollution problem, with a goal to make a transformative impact to this global problem.

"There is broad recognition that microplastics are problematic, but details about sources, measurement, methods and impacts remain unclear. These emerging contaminants are an inevitable presence of microplastics in water, soil, the air and even in the bodies of animals and humans, and collaborative, multidisciplinary research is necessary to advance solutions." said John D. Atkinson, Scott and Coleen Stevens Chair in Engineering Sustainability and associate professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. Atkinson also leads Task 3 of the center's work focused on microplastics research. 

"The goal of the summit was to provide opportunities for a diverse range of groups and experts in all facets of microplastics research and innovation, including regulators, academics, community leaders, and more, to connect and collaborate on microplastics issues across New York state, discuss current microplastics research, identify research and policy gaps, and identify next steps to prioritize what is needed to move New York State towards a solution," said Amy Bloomfield, waste reduction and recycling outreach and education at the Bureau of Waste Reduction and Recycling for DEC.

After spending two days discussing the presence, implications and solutions for microplastics, participants in the summit participated in field work, splitting up into groups to collect water samples from nearby Ellicott Creek and testing for microplastics in the water. The sampling opportunity was organized by Maija Niemisto, who is a part of DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program. Microplastic fibers were found in all of the tested samples.

The collaborative work during the three-day summit will serve as a basis for a publicly available report on the state of microplastics and potential solutions for New York state.