Solving the microplastics problem It turns out, the implications of microplastics are far more serious and pervasive than we could ever have imagined. In an effort to contribute to the solution of this ever-growing problem, the Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in collaboration with UTM Campus Sustainability is holding a Be Wise with Microplastics 2022 which is open to all first year Chemical Engineering students. This campaign aligns with the vision of UTM Campus Sustainability; “To realise a sustainable lifestyle as personal and communal culture providing positive example to the future generation for them to emulate and continuously improve”. The aim of Be Wise with Microplastics 2022 (BWMP2022) is in line with UTM’s goal to produce graduates who are excellent in education and capable of wielding leadership, professional, and other distinguished roles in society, and more importantly, being able to tackle sustainability challenges. It is the hope that various innovative sustainable solutions to the microplastics pollution problem will come from all levels of the community. In the final stage of this campaign, each team of students should propose innovative engineering solutions that would alleviate the microplastics pollution problem. These inventions are expected to be a showcase of the best practices, not only for this area, but also for Malaysia and its region, which will eventually draw more competitive solutions to the market. In order to ensure the practicability of the recommended solutions, benchmarking with global and Malaysian practices should be carried out.
Objectives
The objectives of this competition are:
● To instil deep awareness of the seriousness of how behaviour and lifestyle contribute to microplastics pollution and the effects on health and environment.
● To create a database/monitoring/alert system for the related chosen problem.
● To develop a program/application to determine the impact of behaviour and lifestyle to the pollution problem.
● To propose an engineering solution to alleviate the microplastics pollution problem.
