By Office of Public Affairs
10 September 2022 – Graduates from the first batch of the Marine Plastics Abatement (MPA) program published a journal article titled “Fate identification and management strategies of non-recyclable plastic waste through the integration of material flow analysis and leakage hotspot modeling” in Scientific Reports, a top scientific journal in the field. Aprilia Nidia Rinasti and Indradhi Faisal Ibrahim developed the article as a result of research conducted during their study program, supervised by Prof. Thammarat Koottatep, Dr. Ekbordin Winijkul, and Dr. Kavinda Gunasekara. During their study, Aprilia and Indradhi compiled different perspectives to define plastic leakage into the environment from the spatial and waste management assessment. They further developed a control mechanism for plastic waste in two cities in Indonesia.
Using analysis from Waste Flow Diagram (WFD) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the study found that more than 1,000 tons of plastic waste accumulated annually in the main rivers in the Greater Jakarta Area and Bandung City, Indonesia. Focusing on non-recyclable plastic, the study identified that almost 25% of the plastic waste is leaked into the open environment, half of which ends up in the Ciliwung and Cikapundung rivers. They concluded that improving the waste segregation system is key to increasing plastic circularity to prevent plastic leakage, while GIS modeling can help identify existing leakage hotspots that need to be addressed.
Read the article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20594-w
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About Marine Plastics Abatement (MPA) Program at AIT
MPA Program aims to train a new generation of environmental leaders who will help combat marine plastic litter with advanced technologies and management practices. The MPA Program is a 1-year Master’s degree program designed to address and achieve the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The program will provide individual coaching, creative working space, field exposure, and tailor-made guidance to the students.
More info: https://ait.ac.th/program/marine-plastics-abatement/
About Scientific Reports
Scientific Report is an open-access journal publishing original research from across all areas of the natural sciences, psychology, medicine, and engineering. It is the 5th most-cited journal in the world, with more than 696,000 citations in 2021, and receives widespread attention in policy documents and the media.
More info: https://www.nature.com/srep/about
Aprilia Nidia Rinasti currently works at Geoinformatics Center (GIC) at AIT, and Indradhi Faisal Ibrahim is affiliated with Seven Clean Seas.
