Hands-on workshop: Synthetic Biology Application on Plastic Waste Degradation

Megan Zimroth

Hands-On Workshop: Synthetic Biology Application on Plastic Waste degradation

Universitas Teknologi Sumbawa (UTS)

AWARD AMOUNT

500 USD

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The iGEM Community Program started in 2017 as an effort to support alumni of the iGEM Competition. Since the beginning of the program, it’s been a place for iGEMers to come together to build and support the global synthetic biology community.

Sumbawa University of Technology (UTS) was founded in 2013 with a mission to catalyze social and economic development in Eastern Indonesia by providing high-quality education. Both organizations collaboratively hosted hands-on workshops and river clean-up in collaboration with SynBio 101, Synbio.id, and Foldscope Network ID. The project intends to raise awareness of plastic waste in the local community, starting with high school students through education.

The event held in May 2023 was a three-day workshop held at Universitas Teknologi Sumbawa and Brang Biji River. There were 50 high school and 25 undergraduate students participating in this event altogether. The students had the opportunity to observe microplastic in the river water using Foldscope as they learned the importance of minimizing plastic usage on a daily basis. The students will also get the opportunity to try the SynBio 101 kits and get familiarized with the synthetic biology application.

The results from the event were a success. Over the three days they worked with youth on three kits developed for this event: a microplastic kit, a DNA isolation kit, and an electrophoresis kit. These kits were prepared and packed at Sumbawa University of Technology. Day one revolved around conversations about plastic pollution, day two was the river clean-up & microplastic observation, and on day three they applied plastic degradation techniques.

 The microgrant was used in kit production (containing the modules). We produced around 10 kits that will be used by the participants (in groups) with each kit costing approximately 50 USD to manufacture. 

In the near future, there is a possible collaboration with SynBio UB (synthetic biology community in Brawijaya University) that is currently trying to establish a synthetic biology community. 

The project team are also planning to reach out and collaborate with the local organizations that are concerned about plastic waste that have regular programs in giving education about waste management to the local communities.

Reference Number: STEM-101

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