CSCT researchers discuss plastics research at Green Man Festival

PhD students at the Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies, University of Bath, attended Green Man Festival to talk about the research-based solutions to solve some of the most pressing issues around plastics

Green Man Festival is an international music, science and arts festival held annually in Crickhowell, Wales. The festival has evolved into a 25,000-capacity weeklong event, that attracts people from the United Kingdom and Europe, making it the biggest summer festival in Wales. Being sustainable is fundamental to Green Man – they support Vision 2025 and have pledged to reduce their environmental impact by 50% by 2025.

Mirela Johnson, Emma Daniels, Mohamed Katish, James Runge and Olivia Faye-Dickinson manned a CSCT stall at Einstein’s Garden – Green Man’s science engagement area – with activities focussed on renewable and non-renewable plastic sources, microplastics and the life cycle of plastics. Over 4 days, they spoke to approximately a thousand people.

Mohamed Katish, one of the PhD students who represented the CSCT at Green Man, said:

“Through our activities, we spoke about how plastics have evolved from pre-petrochemical plastics such as cellophane to modern-day bioplastics such as PLA, the difference between oil-based and bio-based plastics, the challenges of developing bioplastics and when they may become mainstream. We also discussed microplastics – where they come from and how they filter through the water treatment process to end up in the ocean. This got people thinking about how deeply rooted plastics are in our day-to-day and how to identify plastics in a product.

“Besides running the science stall, we got to explore the rest of the festival grounds and enjoy live music. But where the festival really delivered was on the amazing people that we met and spoke to.”