REAL Appoints Contractor for ‘Plastic contamination method assessment’ Project
Posted: 5 July, 2023. Written by Megan Muller-Girard
The REAL Research Hub is pleased to announce that Solidsense has been awarded the contract to deliver the project entitled Plastic contamination method assessment: Evaluating current mass-based method and possible alternative methods of assessment for plastics in compost and digestate.
Solidsense was awarded the contract following a competitive tender process and will be working closely with subcontractor Cambridge Eco to deliver the work. The project commenced last week and is expected to be completed in Spring 2024.
The project has three key objectives:
- To assess the robustness and sensitivity of the current mass-based method for assessing plastic (physical contaminants) under PAS100 and PAS110.
- To consider whether an area-based method for quantifying film plastics is operationally feasible and robust and whether it would be feasible to implement for PAS100 and PAS110 materials.
- To investigate the feasibility of implementing microplastic analysis for compost and digestate on a research and development basis.
This project will culminate in a report containing the key findings of each objective, including:
- Potential improvements to the mass-based methods specified under PAS100 and PAS110
- Potential developments to existing area-based methods, a cost comparison between area and mass-based methods, and reporting on the correlation between mass and area of plastic fragments
- Short lists of microplastic analysis methods with potential applications for compost and digestate and results from a limited set of practical trials to test for <1mm microplastics in organic materials.
To learn more about this project, contact megan@realschemes.org.uk for more information.