Beyond the plastic bottle: What are we actually doing?

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, with micro- and nanoplastics emerging as a significant concern. These small plastic fragments come from everyday items like packaging, clothing, and cosmetics, breaking down into even tinier pieces over time. Once they enter the environment, they don’t disappear. Instead, they spread through water, soil, and air. The problem is growing as plastic waste continues to accumulate. Understanding the life cycle of micro- and nanoplastics – where they come from and where they go – is crucial for developing sustainable solutions.

We are researchers working with microplastics in waste products (Crislaine Bertoldi) and with nanoplastic in groundwater (Sascha Muller) at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (MGeo) at Lund University, and want to take you on a journey to explore these tiny particles – to see them and even feel them. Together, we will uncover how small plastic particles, such as microplastics and nanoplastics, are formed, how they enter the environment, and where they eventually end up. Maybe we already have some solutions to the problem to show.

For the whole week there will be some informative material on display, where you can get active yourself and help contributing to our installation.

Thursday 16 April, 10-15

On Thursday, you can meet us, and together we look through a microscope to discover or count small items, and we can create and manipulate art together.

The event is part of Sustainability Week 2026, which runs between 13-18 April. Sustainability Week is an annual event in Lund organised as a joint venture by Lund University and Lund municipality. The week serves as a platform for bringing together ideas, raising public awareness and for inspiring sustainable change. 

See the full programme at the Sustainability Week webpage | hallbarhetsveckan.event.lu.se