How are biodegradable plastics affecting our food?
Supervisors:
Professor Carly Stevens, Lancaster Environment Centre (Lancaster University)
Dr Natalie Welden, School of Social & Environmental Sustainability (University of Glasgow)
Dr Mike Roberts, Lancaster Environment Centre, (Lancaster University)
Professor Martin McAinish, Lancaster Environment Centre (Lancaster University)
Summary:
Biodegradable plastics have been proposed as an alternative to conventional agriplastics to reduce plastic pollution in agricultural soils. However, concerns remain about their environmental sustainability, and little is known about how crops and their resilience to environmental stress are impacted by biodegradable plastic pollution. You will join an innovative and creative team of researchers with expertise spanning ecotoxicology, plant biology, and analytical and material chemistry to conduct a series of ground-breaking experiments to address this issue:
- How do the breakdown products of common biodegradable plastics impact the physiology and health of plants?
- How does biodegradable plastic pollution affect plant stress responses?
- What mechanisms do plants employ to reduce the impacts of plastic pollution on health and stress tolerance?
- Could these mechanisms be harnessed to build resilience in crop species and mitigate the impact of plastic pollution?
You will receive hands-on training in the analysis of the breakdown products of biodegradable plastics and a wide range of plant physiology techniques using a suite of start-of-the-art instruments. Based at Lancaster, you will spend two placements in Glasgow gaining experience of advanced techniques for the analysis of biodegradable plastic breakdown products at the Advanced Research Centre.
All we ask is that you are curious, creative and looking for a challenge!