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…

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…

Despite the attention drawn to the plastic crisis by the media and environmental campaigns, much of the practice around single-use plastic has remained unchanged. It appears that, although many know the correct position to assume regarding the issue, the 'talk' does not necessarily translate into action. This incongruity can be explained with…

The durability and variety of plastics mean that they can take an age to break down (or biodegrade) in the environment. Plastic carrier bags will be around for 50 to 100 years, plastic bottles for 600 years, and Styrofoam/polystyrene containers for a whopping 5000 years. As more of these plastic items are added to the ocean, they just build up and…

Microplastics (MPs) are small plastic particles (<5 mm in size) that are ubiquitous in the environment and have even been detected in bottled water. In this laboratory experiment, suited for instrumental or environmental chemistry classes, students detect and quantify MPs in bottled water by filtering and staining them with Nile red dye prior…

This article introduces a novel experiment that involves vitrimers, a new type of polymer, in polymer chemistry and physics lab courses for undergraduate students. Vitrimers are permanently cross-linked networks that can be reprocessed under certain external stimuli. Therefore, they combine the advantages of traditional thermoplastics (excellent…

The CLEAR lab is an interdisciplinary plastic pollution laboratory whose methods foreground humility and good land relations. In this interview, María Fernanda Yanchapaxi and Eve Tuck speak with CLEAR lab founder, Max Liboiron, and co-investigators, Katherine Crocker and Deondre Smiles. Together, they explore Indigenous perspectives on climate…

STEM is a commonly used acronym in today's education world. Parents hear the term and hope their child's school will be embracing it, teachers plan units encompassing it, even those outside the education realm have heard it and think it is important. But, do students actually understand the four disciplines and can they clearly express what they…

Microplastic contamination of the environment is a major concern but detecting such contamination presents a challenge, particularly for particles <0.1 mm in size. Community scientists and students who participated in a plankton monitoring program and routinely examined samples of seawater using brightfield microscopy, often found fragments and…

Makerspaces have become very popular in education because they "provide hands-on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build, and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering, and tinkering" (Cooper 2013). Not only do makerspaces provide a safe learning environment for students to develop their 21st century…

We report here a second semester general chemistry laboratory project themed around chitosan-alginate bioplastics. With increasing awareness of plastic pollution in the environment and the awareness of the importance for materials which are either made from renewable resources or are biodegradable, this topic provides a relevant opportunity to…

Prior to the recycling process, raising awareness of plastic waste impact, e.g., polluting oceans worldwide, is undoubtedly a first attempt to tackle this pandemic environmental issue. With this in mind, the presented practical session is an effort to entice an interdisciplinary audience of science undergraduates toward a sustainable future. The…

This lesson was inspired by the book, "10 Little Rubber Ducks" by Eric Carle, which discusses ocean pollution. The book was inspired by an incident in 1992: A shipping container tumbled into the North Pacific Ocean, broke open, and 28,800 little rubber ducks (and other plastic bath toys) were lost at sea. The ducks were manufactured in China, and…

Bottled water is ubiquitous, taken for granted, and seemingly benign. Americans are consuming bottled water in massive amounts and spending a lot of money: In 2007, Americans spent $11.7 billion on 8.8 billions gallons of bottled water (Gashler 2008). That same year, two million plastic water bottles were used in the United States every five…

The "Hong Kong Visual Arts Curriculum Guide," covering Primary 1 to Secondary 3 grades (Curriculum Development Committee, 2003), points to three domains of learning in visual arts: (1) visual arts knowledge; (2) visual arts appreciation and criticism; and (3) visual arts making. The "Guide" suggests learning should develop…