AccelNet-Design: Circular Economy Network for Plastics in the US & Caribbean

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Plastics are everywhere; from the micro to the macro scale you’ll find them in oceans, in food, and even in your body. Plastics have untold environmental impacts, and mismanaged plastic waste represents a loss of valuable resources. The Caribbean has three times the mismanaged waste compared to other regions. Most research on waste management has focused on large, wealthy European and US systems. Those approaches are not applicable for the many small island nations of the Caribbean as the small island nations of the Caribbean import copious amounts of goods, including plastics, but have limited means or space for recycling and recovery. A circular economy for plastics could reduce global GHG emissions and fuel a more sustainable economy in the Caribbean. This project establishes an international network of Caribbean and US collaborators that will connect the various components of the plastic ecosystem to design sustainable solutions to the plastic economy of the Caribbean. We will collaborate with BioGals, a nonprofit empowering women of color to create sustainable solutions for communities, to support broadening participation in our project. The team will improve understanding of the impacts of microplastics, recover the resources lost when plastics are mismanaged, develop solutions based on local needs with local researchers, and improve understanding of the scale of plastic wastes in conjunction with their environmental impacts.The team will use a strategic planning process to develop a plastics network strategic plan and research roadmap that at its core ensures sustainability and supports a circular economy. The activities include a workshop and a network event that is part symposium and part design charrette. These events will develop operational links among networks; design collaborative approaches that would engage students, early-career researchers, and leaders in the identification of knowledge gaps and development of professional skills; and identify knowledge gaps and research needs. This project will prepare U.S. science and engineering students, postdoctoral scholars, and early-career researchers for success in conducting and leading multi-team international collaborations to address the pressing problem of plastic sustainability around the globe, particularly for the Caribbean. It will enable strategic linkages between U.S. and international research networks to identify knowledge gaps, accelerate the process of scientific discovery, and develop a research roadmap that will stimulate and foster future research advances for a sustainable plastics circular economy. The Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet) program is designed to accelerate the process of scientific discovery and prepare the next generation of U.S. researchers for multi-team international collaborations. The AccelNet program supports strategic linkages among U.S. research networks and complementary networks abroad that will leverage research and educational resources to tackle grand scientific challenges that require significant coordinated international efforts. This project is funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.