THIS FRIDAY at 7pm at BUGSS!  Don’t miss out! Please save your seat HERE!

By 2050, the oceans will contain as much plastic by weight as fish. The big culprits: large plastics like bags and bottles that break down over time as well as plastic microbeads in face washes and toothpaste. These plastics don’t just make our environment look filthy, they can be dangerous as well, with a single plastic microbead attracting and absorbing one million times more toxins and pollutants than the water around it. These “microplastics” work their way up the food chain as well, accumulating in oysters, mussels, and lobsters. Disturbingly, one quarter of all fish sold in California and Indonesia had microplastics in their guts.

What can we do to stop ourselves from being drowned in our own plastic waste? For a start, come to BUGSS to learn about microplastics: the causes, the problem, and potential solutions. We’re hosting a panel discussion with Julie Lawson, Executive Director of Trash Free Maryland, Jason Rolfe and Carlie Herring of the NOAA Marine Debris Program, and Alterra Sanchez of the University of Maryland’s environmental chemistry program. Learn the biological and chemical effects of microplastics and join with us (and our high school iGEM research team) to find a solution!