Plastic pollution, ubiquitous on beaches, in rivers, fields, and even in the air we breathe and the water we drink, is a major environmental concern. Beyond visible items like bottles or bags, plastic breaks down into micro and nano particles that colonize the planet and its inhabitants, including our brains and placentas.
Currently, the assessment of this pollution focuses mainly on the amount of carbon emitted during the manufacturing, transport, or recycling of plastic objects. However, this approach overlooks the impact of the particles themselves that invade the environment. Faced with this reality, researchers from the University of Montpellier and Inrae sounded the alarm in 2022 and have since developed a new indicator: the particulate plastic footprint.
Valérie Guillard, a researcher at the IATE laboratory (Agro-polymers Engineering and Emerging Technologies), is the author of several publications on this new indicator, including in Sciences Advance and Science of the total environment. This new measurement aims to better grasp the true extent of plastic pollution.
The program 'A l'UM la science' also features a visit to the Planet platform at IATE, specializing in the transformation and valorization of agro-resources. Its head, Adrien Réau, presents an electrostatic separator used to separate constituents based on particle charge.
