Researchers help Miami fight plastic pollution-December 20, 2021

While the Bulldogs prepare for their much-anticipated game against the No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines in the Orange Bowl College Football Playoff Semifinal, a team of University of Georgia researchers from the College of Engineering is already hard at work in Miami to help leaders there tackle a problem that affects nearly every city in the world: plastic pollution.

UGA researchers have partnered with Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, and the City of Miami to better understand the life cycle of plastic pollution and, more importantly, what steps must be taken to keep Miami and its famous waterways pristine.

The project will culminate in a report as the result of the Circularity Assessment Protocol, or CAP.

The project, which builds upon Ocean Conservancy’s Shores Forward initiative will be published in January.

Since its development in 2019, the UGA research group has used the CAP in 10 countries and 27 cities around the world, including in India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, Panama and Mexico. But this is the first time the protocol has been fully deployed in a major U.S. city.

Those living in Miami who would like to assist in the research can find more information online.