PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SERIEMA GROUP

Our collaboration with the Strategic Solutions for Responsibility, Interaction, Education, and Environment (SERIEMA) sustainability program at the CNPEM research center has been instrumental in embedding responsible and socially conscious practices into our iGEM 2024 project. Through this partnership, we have aligned our scientific efforts with the pressing environmental and social issues facing our local community, ensuring that our solutions are both impactful and sustainable:

Biodiversity and Waste Management: Working closely with SERIEMA, we identified the biodiversity preservation and waste management key areas as focal points for our project. This allowed us to develop initiatives that are not only scientifically sound but also socially relevant and applicable to the needs of our community.

Educational Workshops and Feedback: During Environment Week (June 3-7, 2024), we actively engaged with the CNPEM community, reaching 360 participants through workshops and talks on topics such as the lifecycle of plastics and their environmental impact. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with 135 responses from participants highlighting the relevance of the initiatives and the new knowledge gained. We were highly motivated by the impact of our work within the community.

Pioneering Plastic Reduction: As a direct result of our campaigns, CNPEM has seen a dramatic reduction in the use of single-use plastics. For instance, from January to August 2024, the consumption of plastic cups decreased by over 99.995%, from 120,000 units in January to just 700 units in August. This shift was driven by a combination of awareness emails, posters, and practical measures such as the introduction of reusable mugs.

WEEK OF THE ENVIRONMENT: AWARENESS AND ACTION

The Environment Week at CNPEM was a key event in our campaign to raise awareness about plastic pollution and microplastics. Throughout the week, we held a series of activities that highlighted the environmental challenges posed by plastic waste and the steps we can take to mitigate these impacts.

Topics Covered:

• Biomass Conversion into Eco-Friendly Materials: by Juliana da Silva Bernardes, PhD (Laboratório Nacional de Nanotecnologia)
• Sustainability in Packaging: by Gustavo Henrique Moraes, MSc (Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos)
• Single-Use vs. Circular Economy: Life Cycle of Plastics: by Guilherme Nogueira, PhD (Universidade Estadual de Campinas)

Visual Impact: We produced and displayed posters at key events like the "Green Coffee" session, where we discussed environmental issues and our ongoing project, B.A.R.B.I.E., focused on reducing plastic pollution.

CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE PLASTIC USAGE AT CNPEM

Our campaign to reduce plastic use involved a multi-faceted approach, combining education, behavioral nudges, and structural changes within the CNPEM community. The campaign involved sending out seven informational emails to all staff, outlining the dangers of plastic waste and encouraging the adoption of reusable alternatives. The emails also reminded staff about the mandatory removal of plastic cups at CNPEM, emphasizing the importance of bringing their own reusable mugs.

Quantifiable Impact:

• Plastic Waste Reduction: The CNPEM saw an overall reduction in plastic waste by 99.995%, with a significant drop in plastic cup usage from 120,000 units in January 2023 to just 700 units by August 2024.
• Behavioral Change: The introduction of reusable mugs and water bottles has become the norm within CNPEM, significantly reducing our environmental footprint.

METRICS AND RESULTS OF OUR AWARENESS ACTIONS

Our efforts have led to significant, quantifiable outcomes both environmentally and socially. The reduction in plastic waste at CNPEM, combined with our successful educational campaigns, has established a model for sustainable practices within scientific institutions. The combination of awareness initiatives, the distribution of reusable mugs, and the elimination of plastic cups proved to be a great strategy in fostering a culture of plastic reduction. The result was an overwhelming level of participation and commitment across the CNPEM community, as seen in the figure above.

Environmental Impact:

• 99.995% Reduction in Plastic Cup Usage: Demonstrated by a sharp decline in plastic cup consumption.
• Increased Use of Reusable Items: Adoption of sustainable practices by CNPEM staff.

Social Impact:

Community Engagement: Feedback from staff and local community members has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the effectiveness and importance of our initiatives.

PARTNERSHIP WITH IGARAPÉ GROUP

Throughout the season, our team recognized the importance of forging partnerships with institutional entities and collectives beyond our immediate sphere of action. One of these key collaborators was the Igarapé Group, a student organization at Unicamp, founded in 2022 by Chemical Engineering students, with a mission to develop socio-environmental projects. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the group actively engages both the Unicamp community and the broader local population to promote sustainability.

Their first project, Recicla Barão, focused on raising awareness about waste management and environmental education while implementing practical solutions to mitigate waste impacts in Barão Geraldo and at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). Building on this momentum, Igarapé has continued to advance initiatives that foster leadership, critical thinking, and collaboration. Their current project, Mora Composta, addresses organic recycling systems in Unicamp's student housing, aiming to reduce solid waste, with a special emphasis on plastic waste reduction.

Participation of Igarapé on the Environment Week at CNPEM

Given our shared commitment to raising local awareness about plastic consumption and disposal, we initiated meetings to formalize a partnership. We believe that education is crucial in shifting public perceptions and practices around plastic use, leading to safer waste production and disposal practices, both in the short and long term. As part of this collaboration, we invited the Igarapé Group to participate in CNPEM’s Environment Week, co-organized by the SERIEMA group and our team. During the event, they delivered the lecture, "Sustainability: Individual and Collective Choices that Influence Our Relationship with the Environment," offering the CNPEM community valuable insights into humanity’s role in nature and exploring the increasing disconnect between people and their environment.

Community Clean-Up and Impact

In order to raise awareness about improper waste disposal in Barão Geraldo located at Campinas, São Paulo, the CNPEM-BRAZIL team in collaboration with the Igarapé Group, organized a street cleanup on June 30th, 2024. The event highlighted the residents' detachment from their environment as they witnessed young volunteers cleaning up their discarded trash. This initiative received strong backing from the Igarapé Group, along with the spontaneous help of passing volunteers who were inspired to join the cause. We spent the day collecting and sorting waste into recyclable, non-recyclable, and electronic categories, ensuring proper disposal at the local Ecoponto station in Barão Geraldo. The sheer volume of waste we encountered made the activity eye-opening; it underscored how casually people litter public spaces.

Impact:

• Waste Collected: Over 200 kg of waste was gathered during the cleanup.
• Community Feedback: Local residents were highly supportive, with many emphasizing the importance of these efforts in preserving biodiversity and reducing pollution.

Our street cleanup in Barão Geraldo, supported by the Igarapé Group, has collected over 200 kg of waste, correctly disposable in the Ecoponto de Barão Geraldo. We also raised environmental awareness within the local community through this action, receiving positive feedback from residents who appreciated our efforts. One local resident even approached us, sharing his concerns about improper waste disposal and explaining that he goes out every week to collect and recycle waste in his neighborhood. The event drew attention to the importance of responsible waste disposal, with strong community engagement and positive feedback on the importance of protecting local biodiversity.

Lecture on the Engineering Week at UNICAMP

We were also invited by the Igarapé Group to give a lecture followed by a case-style dynamic during Civil Engineering Week, organized by the School of Civil Engineering at the State University of Campinas. During our team’s session, we presented the B.A.R.B.I.E project, including both the scientific part and the actions promoted by the Human Practices group, and proposed a dynamic with the students in which they were divided into representative groups of society to address the issue of solid waste disposal, such as NGO, Community, City Hall, and Company. These groups proposed solutions to deal with the issue of excessive waste disposal in the Barão Geraldo area, and they adapted their proposals according to the initiatives of each sector, considering, for example, the scope and area of action of an NGO. These were very enriching activities that showed us the importance of engaging with our community and beyond to address the problem of improper solid waste disposal, such as plastic, and combat the generation of microplastics at different scales and proportions.

WATER DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR RIO GRANDE DO SUL

The Southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has faced an unprecedented situation of catastrophe after heavy rains flooded practically every city in the state, either totally or partially. Entire cities have been destroyed, the capital, Porto Alegre, has been severely hit. In addition to the obvious consequences of the destruction caused by the water, the cold was approaching, diseases were multiplying and problems were being caused by the difficulty of finding homes and temporary housing for thousands of people, of transporting goods and even to find clean water to drink. According to Márcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, meteorological phenomenon such as the heat bubble significantly contributed by preventing the dispersion of a cold front over the state, resulting in record rainfall and concentration of precipitation in a specific area.

In response to this catastrophic flooding in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, which affected thousands of residents, our team organized a water donation drive. The campaign was a collaborative effort involving the B.A.R.B.I.E. project, CNPEM staff, and the local community.

Details:

• Water Collected: We successfully collected and donated 700 liters of water.
• Logistics: The collected water was shipped via CNPEM logistics to the affected areas, ensuring timely and effective distribution to those in need.

“CIÊNCIA ABERTA” AT CNPEM

We participated in the 6th edition of the outreach event “Open Science”, organized by CNPEM, where we engaged with the public through activities addressing the issue of microplastics in drinking water. The audience we received includes the city of Campinas and the surrounding region, and we had the participation of over 21,000 people. We also presented the B.A.R.B.I.E. project as a solution to mitigate these contaminants using synthetic biology. Over the two-day event, we attracted a diverse audience, including students and the general public, with two activities: “Fishing for Microplastics” and “Microplastics in Everyday Life: Discover Your Annual Consumption”.

Activity 1: “Fishing for Microplastics”

As our main attraction, “Fishing for Microplastics” is a playful activity demonstrating how 3D-printed B.A.R.B.I.E. 4.0 proteins capture microplastics as polyethylene and polypropylene. The activity was especially popular among children and young people, allowing us to share the concept of our eco-filter in a fun and interactive manner. Additionally, since the event was open to the community, we received visits of students, experts in the field, and even members of other iGEM teams, facilitating valuable exchanges of ideas about the project and the broader applications of synthetic biology.

Activity 2: “Microplastics in Everyday Life: Discover Your Annual Consumption”

Our second activity is a quiz titled “Microplastics in Everyday Life: Discover Your Annual Consumption”, designed to offer an interactive way for the public to understand the amount of microplastics they might ingest and inhale annually. Through questions about the frequency and source of water consumption, we gained valuable insights that helped us enhance our project. This activity had the greatest impact among young adults and adults, revealing shocking and realistic data about daily microplastic consumption, much of which was previously unknown to participants. Additionally, the quiz included messages to raise awareness about sustainable consumption and the proper disposal of plastics.

We received responses from 57 participants, with 93% of them falling within the 12 to 59 age range. Therefore, we focused our analysis on this demographic, as shown in the graph below.

The primary goal of our project is to develop a household filter that enables families to purify the tap water effectively, so our first step was to understand the water consumption habits of the Campinas population. To better understand water consumption habits, we investigated participants' behavior regarding tap water usage. Our quiz forms revealed that around 75% of individuals aged 12 to 59 consume unfiltered tap water. Additionally, 50% of adults reported drinking more than 1 liter of water per day, a figure that drops to 19% among young adults but rises again to 42% among teenagers. These results suggest that future generations are likely to continue consuming tap water.

A case study conducted in a Brazilian municipality found around 316 plastic microparticles per liter of tap water, highlighting the urgent need for an effective filtration system to remove these microparticles and the importance of national legislation to regulate microplastic levels in drinking water to protect public health.

Our survey also indicates that 75% of adults, 76% of young adults, and 87% of teenagers still consume water from single-use plastic containers. This highlights the importance of our awareness campaigns aimed at reducing plastic consumption, as improper disposal significantly contributes to the generation of microplastics in the environment.

Finally, we observed that most adolescents (96%) and young adults (86%) consume water using reused plastic containers, with the exception of adults. While this is a more sustainable alternative to single-use containers, it’s essential to ensure that the quality of the water remains uncompromised. Therefore, developing efficient filtration systems to remove microplastics and establishing legislation to regulate their presence in drinking water are critical steps to protect the health and well-being of future generations.

B.A.R.B.I.E. Project Promotion During the Event

In order to promote the B.A.R.B.I.E. Project, we produced a folder explaining the origin and impacts of microplastics on human health, the aquatic ecosystem, and the climate crisis. We also presented our activities to both the Scientific Front (objective and operation of our eco-filter integrated with the biosensor) and the Human Practices Front (visions and purposes for regulating microplastics in drinking water).

PROJECT PRESENTATION AT THE CNPEM "TRILHA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO" EVENT

During this session, we had the opportunity to present our project to the intern group at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) at the “Trilha de Desenvolvimento” meeting. The presentation allowed us to engage with young professionals from the research center while receiving valuable feedback on our project, as well as promoting the competition, synthetic biology, and, of course, our project. The students were highly enthusiastic and impressed by the project; many expressed interest in joining the team, though unfortunately, we had already finalized our roster at that time.

REFERENCES

1. Garcia, R. Unveiling the Climate Crisis in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul. REVOLVE (2024). Retrieved from: https://revolve.media/interviews/unveiling-the-climate-crisis-in-brazils-rio-grande-do-sul.
2. Pratesi, C.B. et al. Presence and Quantification of Microplastic in Urban Tap Water: A Pre-Screening in Brasilia, Brazil. Sustainability 13, 6404 (2021).