This repeated cross-sectional pilot study examined the impact of environmental education on reducing overall waste generation among students enrolled in an environmental health course from Fall 2020 to Spring 2023. The data included trash generation, single-use plastic, and paper products. Each student logged their daily usage of these waste…

Microplastics have been found in the most remote locations on Earth as well as in where we live, work, and play. Despite increasing research focus on microplastics, efforts to inform the public about their omnipresence have lagged. To bridge this gap between research and public knowledge, we developed a museum exhibit with interactive and…

An adipic acid esterification experiment suitable for graduate students has been developed to describe the industrial manufacture of plasticizers. Students first follow the progress of the reaction with simple acid/base titration enabling measurement of the acid number. During the workup of the reaction mixture, they learn how to manage the…

Reported herein is a chemistry experiment integrating polymer chemistry and instrumental analysis for the juniors majoring in chemistry. This experiment has a different scheduling framework than traditional experiments with a fixed lab period and schedule. The students arrange their experiment flexibly and individually. Styrene maleic anhydride…

Purpose: This study aims to combine two theories, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM), to investigate the relationship between the awareness of reducing single-use plastic waste's environmental cost and the behaviour to limit the use of single-use plastic products (SUPPs) by FPT university students.…

Given the severe pollution caused by traditional plastics, biodegradable plastic products (BPPs) have received great attention and are appearing in people's lives in the form of packaging bags, tableware, etc. Whether a wide variety of BPPs can truly degrade depends on the environment. Aerobic composting is the arbitration method to evaluate the…

In recent years, the food industry has been undergoing major changes driven by new social and environmental demands. Nowadays, biodegradable packaging is perceived as the most feasible alternative for food packaging. Great efforts are being devoted to the development of new materials from agro-industrial wastes and byproducts that are opening new…

Buckminsterfullerene (C[subscript 60]), along with diamond and graphite, appears in many chemistry textbooks as an example of an allotrope of carbon. This communication describes a hands-on activity to explore the characteristic structure of C[subscript 60] through the construction of a structural model using transistors and plastic tubes…

This work analyzes the educational proposals designed by 130 future secondary school teachers (FTs) to address socioecological problems--in this case, the presence of microplastics in the environment--, and the relationship with their own perceptions and commitments regarding these problems. The research design was mixed, with both qualitative and…

With the enormous reliance on plastics in the world today, bisphenol A, an additive used in the synthesis of many plastics, such as polycarbonate, has been found almost everywhere in our environment including in soil, in natural waters, and inside organisms including humans. A multidisciplinary experiment is presented that involves using flatworms…

With the increase of waste paper, environmental pollution and atmospheric impact have become global problems. The cellulose contained in waste paper has the advantages of being renewable and biodegradable and can be applied to many fields to achieve sustainable development. At present, thermal management materials, as a new type of material, have…

Purpose: This study aims to address the critical subject of building capacity for the circular economy in the global south. It complements the literature by providing information on the role of higher education institutions in developing skills for the circular plastic economy. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a mixed method approach…

Polymer chemistry is essential within chemical education because of its applications in academic and industrial research, materials science, and across engineering disciplines. Teaching polymer chemistry principles early on in the undergraduate curriculum allows students to find connections between chemistry and real-world applications and can…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs)have been shown to result in increased science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) persistence, but such experiences are rarely available for first-year STEM students. This work outlines the development and integration of a CURE into a year-long honors general chemistry laboratory…

The essential component of expanding an undergraduate curriculum is the inclusion of lab experiments in nanoscience and nanomaterials, which significantly impact health and the environment through their use in food, cosmetics, agriculture, and medicine. We designed a laboratory experiment based on the atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis of the…