Plastic Underground: Integrated Cross-Sectoral Solutions to Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in Soil and Groundwater Ecosystems

Recent evidence of increasing accumulation of micro- and nanoplastics (MnP) in soils and groundwater raise severe concerns by
agricultural and water industries, food manufacturers, regulators, environmental interest groups and citizens. Private and public
sectors require detailed understanding of environmental and public health risks posed by MnP in soils and groundwater. The
PlasticUnderground Doctoral Network creates supra-disciplinary intersectoral capacity for analysing the fate, transport and impacts of
MnP in soils and groundwater to develop solutions for reducing their environmental and public health risks, supporting the EC's
circular plastic economy strategy. The central aim of the PlasticUnderground Doctoral Network is to deliver international scientific
excellence through a holistic supra-disciplinary and inter-sectoral research and training network on solutions to the emerging crisis of
MnP pollution in subsurface ecosystems in soils and groundwater, integrating knowledge across traditional discipline boundaries to
benefit the public and private sectors. The supra-disciplinary research programme includes unique training opportunities for a cohort
of 10 Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) (plus one individually funded through ETHZ as Associated Country partner) in environmental and
social science, ecotoxicology, soil science and aquatic ecology, analytical chemistry, agronomy, data science and numerical modelling
as well as responsible innovation, method standardization for use in regulatory decision making and risk assessment. The integrated
training programme will prepare ESRs with skill sets that are urgently required in agricultural, water, chemical, and manufacturing
industries, environmental and regulatory agencies, academia, and the public sector and includes training provision by key
stakeholders that will directly benefit from the training in this network.