Circular plastics economy – linking across scales

This LabLinks will provide a platform for world-leading experts in chemistry, materials science, engineering, industrial ecology, and environmental science to share recent insights and discuss cross-disciplinary opportunities for tackling plastic pollution across scales.

The full life cycle of plastics has historically been an afterthought in chemical design. Chemical recalcitrance—combined with linear models of production, consumption, and waste—has contributed to nearly 80% of plastic waste accumulating in landfills or the environment.

Despite material and chemical innovations, an integrated science-based strategy for reducing global plastic pollution across scales—from molecular to global—is still out of sight. Avoiding vast increases of plastic pollution in the future will require collaboration across research disciplines and scales, as well as coordination with industry.

Keynote speaker
• Marc Hillmyer, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota
• Eleni Iacovidou, Division of Environmental Sciences, Brunel University, London

Speakers
• Eugene Chen, Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University
• Roland Geyer, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara
• Timothy Hoellein, Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago
• Jim Palardy, Project Director - Conservation Science, Pew Charitable Trusts
• Boya Xiong, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota

View the program https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/519224/LabLinks/2021/Lablinks2021_Plastics_SpeakerFlyer_final.pdf

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Organizers
• Jennifer Dunn, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University
• Julia Kalow, Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University
• Stacey Chin, Scientific Editor, Matter
• Vjekoslav Dekaris, Scientific Editor, Chem
• Erika Freimuth, Scientific Editor, One Earth

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