Symposium: Unpacking Plastic

Plastic is everywhere—woven into our daily lives, embedded in our environment, and even present in our bodies. But what does this truly mean?

Unpacking Plastic is an event that delves into the complex role of plastic in our modern world, exploring its presence across multiple scales, from global pollution concerns to its impact on personal health and daily behaviors. Through an engaging keynote, hands-on workshops, and interactive activities, this event brings together knowledge and action, helping us rethink our relationship with plastic and discover practical steps toward change.

This event is organized by the Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development (Interdisciplinary Group on Microplastics and Environmental Humanity Network).

Programme

14:30 to 15:20 Lecture
Concrete and Plastic: Thinking through Materiality

By Prof. Kylie Crane from the University of Rostock

This talk considers the multiple scales of plastic as emerging from and contributing to modernity, for the ways plastic has become synonymous with environmental pollution (or not), as well as its entanglements in the everyday. Bringing concrete to the conversation about plastic aids in comprehending materials as materials, that is, for the ways disparate places, people, ideas and things are connected.

15:30 to 16:20 Parallel workshops

• Plastic & Health – Breathing Microplastics by Dr. Gwenda Vasse (UG)

Explore how microplastics enter our respiratory system and what this means for human health

• Plastic & Environment – Microplastics in the Arctic

Investigate the surprising presence of plastic pollution in remote ecosystems and its broader environmental impact

• Plastic & Behavior – Tackling Microplastics in Daily Life by Dr. Josefine Geiger (UG)

Discover how the general public view (micro)plastics and learn practical strategies for tackling this new type of pollution through everyday actions

16:30 to 17:00 Closing session
Drinks and walk-in activities

Enjoy our networking drinks and discover fun practical projects (e.g., video games, board games, apps) developed by researchers, students and practitioners on (micro)plastic challenges and solutions