Plastic in the environment – Status Conference

UGT GmbH visited the status conference on the 9 and 10 April 2019 with the research focus “Plastics in the Environment – Sources, Sinks and Solutions of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). First results from the joint research projects of the research program were presented at the Kalkscheune in Berlin. Representatives of the projects presented their findings and challenges as well as work on cross-cutting topics.

The UGT GmbH was represented by Leonard Zechmeister (Project Engineer Research and Development). As part of the working package: Development of sampling methods, he presented a poster with first optimizations results of the sedimentation boxes regarding: longevity, ease of use, efficient manufacturing, recovery rates of microplastics (MP) and low selectivity for different MP types.

Finished stainless steel sedimentation box for field use. Finished plexiglas sedimentation box for laboratory tests photo credit: UGT GmbH

Besides the scientific understanding of microplastic entry sources, causes and paths, market-ready procedures for efficient microplastic sampling should be developed by the UGT GmbH.

“Plastic can be found everywhere in today’s world – in the arctic, on the ocean floor, and on uninhabited islands. Tiny plastic particles have even been found to be present in the cells of animals and plants. Our knowledge of the extent of plastic contamination, however, is surprisingly low: exactly how much plastic is swimming in the oceans, where it comes from, how it behaves in rivers and seas, and what effects it might have on animal and humans, remains largely unknown.” (bmbf-plastik.de)

Joint Project in “ Plastik in der Umwelt“