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

塑料无处不在；从微观到宏观，你可以在海洋、食物甚至你的身体中找到它们。塑料对环境的影响难以估量，管理不善的塑料废物意味着宝贵资源的损失。加勒比地区管理不善的废物是其他地区的三倍。大多数关于废物管理的研究都集中在大型、富裕的欧洲和美国系统。这些办法不适用于加勒比的许多小岛屿国家，因为加勒比的小岛屿国家进口大量货物，包括塑料，但回收和回收的手段或空间有限。塑料循环经济可以减少全球温室气体排放，并为加勒比地区更可持续的经济提供动力。该项目建立了加勒比和美国合作者的国际网络，将塑料生态系统的各个组成部分连接起来，为加勒比的塑料经济设计可持续的解决方案。我们将与非营利组织BioGals合作，帮助有色人种女性为社区创造可持续的解决方案，以支持扩大我们项目的参与度。该团队将提高对微塑料影响的认识，回收因塑料管理不善而损失的资源，与当地研究人员一起根据当地需求制定解决方案，并提高对塑料废物规模及其对环境影响的认识。该团队将使用战略规划流程来制定塑料网络战略计划和研究路线图，其核心是确保可持续性并支持循环经济。活动包括一个工作坊和一个网络活动，一部分是研讨会，一部分是设计讨论会。这些活动将发展各网络之间的业务联系；设计协作方法，让学生、早期职业研究人员和领导者参与识别知识差距和发展专业技能；确定知识差距和研究需求。该项目将为美国理工科学生、博士后学者和早期职业研究人员做好准备，使他们能够成功地开展和领导多团队国际合作，解决全球塑料可持续发展的紧迫问题，特别是加勒比地区。它将使美国和国际研究网络之间建立战略联系，以确定知识差距，加速科学发现的进程，并制定研究路线图，以刺激和促进未来可持续塑料循环经济的研究进展。通过国际网络对网络合作加速研究（AccelNet）计划旨在加速科学发现的进程，并为下一代美国研究人员进行多团队国际合作做好准备。AccelNet项目支持美国研究网络与国外互补网络之间的战略联系，将利用研究和教育资源来应对需要重大国际协调努力的重大科学挑战。该项目由国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.