Interview with Mr. Bahati Mayoma, Tanzanian researcher specializing in Aquatic Ecology and Pollution Management. During the Flipflopi Lake Victoria Expedition on March 2021, Mr. Bahati was investigating the extent of micro plastic pollution in the lake.

How widespread is micro plastic pollution?

Microplastic pollution is spread in all environmental compartments which include water, sediment, air and land.

Is micro plastic pollution a public health concern, and should we be worried?

Yes microplastics pollution (MPs) is a public health concern which has to be addressed with all efforts.

MPs are tiny particles (<5mm) which have potential to associate with both natural and human induced toxic compounds as well as pathogens thereby serving as vector for health related diseases. Due to their sizes, MPs are readily available to wide range of species some of which are consumed by human being. Depending on their sizes, some MPs can be found suspended in the air and could be inhaled. While there is no substantial evidence of direct side effects of human-MPs interactions due to limited researches, the concerns is increasingly growing in species which human consume therefore without taking initiatives to address MPs there is a potential that human will also be impacted.

You have previously investigated micro plastic pollution in fish from Lake Victoria, what were the findings?

The investigation found that about 20% of fish species namely Perch and tilapia had ingested microplastic in their stomach (Gastrointestinal tract)

Do you think there are enough studies that governments can rely on to address micro plastic pollution especially in our water bodies?

The available studies are just a snap shot of what could be found in our water bodies. Our water bodies lags behind other global waters of similar size in terms of research and yet the water bodies are surrounded by cities and towns which have not invested fully in sustainable waste disposal mechanisms.

Like climate deniers, do you feel some people will deny the threat micro plastic is posing?

The community awareness has recently grown and more people now understand the adverse effects which could be posed by microplastics as compared to 5 years back when microplastics research began in Lake Victoria. However, without research data there will be hesitation from people who would like to understand the extent pollution for them to take action.

Generally plastics are lightweight and tend to float on water, but then there are reports of micro plastics deep below, how do they end up in the lower areas of the ocean or lakes?

There are two ways plastic can be found deep below, first it’s through inherent properties i.e plastic being manufactured with higher density than water for example nylon which makes them sink, secondly light plastic could interact with biological organisms such as algae, bacteria , fungi etc which make them attain extra weight and therefore sink at the bottom of the water bodies.

When we met during FlipFlopi Lake Victoria expedition in March this year you were conducting micro plastic water sampling, which techniques were you using?

Two methods were used namely surface sampling which was conducted using equipment called manta trawl and Vertical water sampling which was conducted using Van Dorn sampler. The manta trawl was towed for 30minutes and filtrate retained by the manta net was fixed for laboratory analysis. The vertical water sampling was done after a fixed interval from surface to the bottom. Samples were filtered to through 300micron and 50micron to capture microplastics in that range.

How effective are these techniques in investigating the extent of pollution?

The techniques are globally practiced and accepted among standard methods for microplastics assessment in water compartments.

When should we expect to see the findings?

Samples will be analyzed at the University of Dar es salaam Tanzania and Northumbria University in UK. Results will be available by the end of the year 2021.

There has been increased uproar against rising tide of plastic pollution, could this be the reason for the growing research studies on micro plastic pollution?

Yes to some extent the society want to know how safe are their ecosystems including the environments which interact or obtain resources such as water, fish etc. In line with this, researchers have core function to ensuring that information is not only available but also accessible to the society in non technical/user friendly language.

Interview by James Wakibia

James Wakibia, a Kenyan journalist and plastic waste campaigner spoke to Mr. Niall Dunne, C.E.O of Polymateria.

How is Polymateria thinking differently about the issue of plastic pollution?

By embracing reduction, reuse and recycling but adding a 4th “R”, which is Redesigning of the materials at point of manufacture, and in doing so targeting the types of plastic that are most likely to end up in the natural environment, these are called “polyolefins”.

Of the 32% of plastic that ends up in the natural environment, polyolefins are the largest constituent at 31% of all plastics.

Polyesters (your water / drinks bottles) get a lot of media attention but they are “only” 10% of the materials we find in nature. So for all of these reasons we have commercialized focusing on polyolefins first.

Your company is working on redefining how plastic is designed and produced; it is developing a biodegradable plastic to tame rising increase in plastic pollution. Do you think plastic pollution is a design problem?

It’s the perfect combination of problems, design (of the materials themselves), (our consumer) behavior and (lack of) infrastructure. Not all plastic materials are good candidates for our technology, polystyrene and PVC as examples are toxic and shouldn’t wind up in the natural environment. So the first principle of design is to accept that everything winds up in the natural environment sooner or later anyway, so from a product stewardship perspective we should only design with “pure” materials capable of full and safe return to nature.

The second design consideration, is to give our human made infrastructure (recycling, waste to energy etc) every chance to happen, we do this by precisely time controlling exactly when our technology becomes active, allowing for the ideal end of life scenario, but accepting that if biodegradation is needed the materials wont persist in nature as plastics of microplastics for hundreds of years.

Despite it being a close guarded secret, “Secret squirrel stuff,” as you put it; give me a general idea of how BioTransformation Technology works?

The cornerstone of our Biotransformation technology is knowing how to destroy the hard crystalline region of the plastic structure.

If you don’t do this you create #microplastics and this is why other technologies have failed.

What we create in the early stage of the biodegradation process is a grease or wax like material. We then use a “synthetic” prebiotic to attract microbes, fungi and bacteria to fully consume the wax like material so all you have left is CO2, water and biomass. Its important that this happens in real world conditions and not just in labs.

To ensure all of this is evidence and science based we open sourced our IP and launched a new standard with BSI to help breathe confidence back into industry, governments and NGOs, who were beginning to lose hope in innovation on this topic.

Additionally the time controlled aspect allows for recycling and our unique “Recycle By” date empower consumers to do the right thing and dispose of the materials responsibly.

Will Bio Transformation Technology be the magic bullet to the challenge posed by plastic pollution?

No. On big global issues such as plastic pollution and climate change there is no single silver bullet. The “magic bullet” tends to be more of a combination of improved science and increased collaboration and better more disruptive, even unusual partnerships. On both of these we try to set an example and ensure we work with people who share our values and want to actually solve the fugitive plastic problem, not just push agendas or let egos or competition get in the way of making real progress.

Our recent announcement with Indorama Ventures is an example of this: https://www.textileworld.com/textile-world/nonwovens-technical-textiles/2021/04/indorama-ventures-fibervisions-and-avgol-join-polymateria-global-in-partnership-to-bring-biotransformation-technology-to-polyolefin-fibers-and-nonwoven-fabrics/

Are you optimistic that plastic producing industries will embrace your bio transformation idea, because, if you have to transform plastic you will essentially have to work closely with them?

Some will, like Indorama above and also Clariant (now Aveint) our partners in South East Asia and India but for the most part I expect the industry will be paralysed by the rising storm of expectation and will respond through inadequate promises and action.

Consumers, NGOs and ultimately policy will consign these businesses to the annals of history, but the first movers who are better at science led efforts and collaboration will launch disruptive innovation and be on the right side of history.

Every minute, it is estimated that more than 2 million single-use plastic bags and over 1 million plastic bottles are distributed worldwide. Do you think biodegradable plastics are the future of packaging?

Only if they are both recyclable and biodegradable, we need to move beyond either/or. This was the original vision for the #CircularEconomy and we need to remind ourselves of this initial intent for harmony, between mother nature (our most powerful circular economy) and our efforts as humans to “close the loop”, whether through mechanical or chemical recycling.

Considering plastics are made from fossil fuels and have different toxic additives, how safe are transformed biodegradable plastics once exposed into the natural environment?

Great question. Polyolefins are an incredibly pure material and therefore good candidates for full and safe return to nature without any ecotox impacts on the natural environment. As mentioned above, ironically they are also the biggest source of “fugitive” plastic on earth. However other materials such as polystyrene, PVC etc are incredibly toxic and should just be banned in my opinion.

Edited by Benard Ogembo NYAKWAR KECHA

Living in safe, clean and a healthy environment is everyone’s wish and hence taking ‘eco’ care should be everybody’s business. We only have one Earth to live in and if we do not take care of it, no one will.

Expecting our representatives or corporations to fix the environment or do something about the air, land, and water bodies is akin to daydreaming. Many lawmakers are too busy serving the interests of corporates while lack of genuine green education and political goodwill to protect the environment.

To put things in perspective, here are the hard, cold facts about plastic pollution. It is estimated that nearly 24 billion pounds of waste end up in our oceans every year, with majority of it being plastics. And to add salt to the injury, nine in 10 birds have ingested plastic and carry it in their stomachs.

Researchers record that plastic bottles take up to 450 years to decompose while the nearly indestructible PET containers will never decompose. For a plastic carrier plastic bag, it takes nearly 100 years to biodegrade and less than 1% of the plastic bags we take home from stores is recycled and end up at landfills or end up in the ocean.

After plastic is (finally) decomposed it morphs into toxic microplastics. The world recycles just 9% of the plastics it produces. Plastic bottle production requires 1.5 million barrels of oil every year; more oil is used to transport them around. Interestingly, it takes 500 years for a single-use diaper to biodegrade.

With all the evidence highlighting the magnitude of damage plastic is to our environment, we really need to rethink plastics and shift to eco-friendly products as soon as possible as that is the only way we can save our mother nature.

An eco-friendly product is a product that is less harmful for the environment than their regular counterparts. If more people started buying eco-friendly products, pollution would not be so rampant, our plant would have a timeout to breathe and regenerate, and our families and communities would be healthier in the long term.

Plus, eco-friendly products are not only great for the environment; they are also beneficial for the human health.

Eco-friendly products can make a real difference by enabling us to reduce our environmental footprint, namely the impact our lifestyle and activities have on the environment and global natural resources.

These products help reduce plastic waste; steering clear of single-use packaging and looking for environmentally friendly alternatives is one good place to start.

Research records that eco-friendly products are not resource-intensive and they are made to last. A durable product means that it will be used many times, possibly by multiple users before it gives up the ghost and ends up in a landfill.

Whenever you go to the supermarket store or your local mall, remember to take a reusable shopping bag with you. The environment will thank you for it. Plastic bag pollution is one of mankind’s ever ballooning problems.

Globally, 1 trillion plastic bags are used every year. It is harmful to the environment to produce a plastic bag and it is harmful to the environment to discard and not recycle a plastic bag. Some plastic bags can linger in the environment for hundreds of years.

As the negative impact of plastic pollution continues, manufacturers have the responsibility to switch to sustainable products to protect both their consumers and the environment.

With eco-friendly products, we cannot go wrong. Using these products will not only help protect the environment and the health and well-being of our loved ones but also the future of our kids. It is a win-win situation.

The Author is a Communication and Media Professional, with a keen interest on environmental conservation matters and has successfully carried out Plastic Pollution Campaign.

Twitter Handle: @Benogeh