Unimal Lecturer Presents the Dangers of Plastic to the Environment

KBRN, Lhokseumawe: Dr. Rozanna Dewi, a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering, appeared as the keynote speaker at the International Conference on Finance, Economics, and Business II (2nd ICOFEB), held by the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Malikussaleh, on November 21-22, 2023. Dr. Rozanna, along with Dr. Ir. Azhari, ASEAN Eng, attended on the second day of the conference.

Rozanna presented with a talk titled "Economic Perspective of Starch and Cellulose Based Degradable Plastic." In her explanation, she described that 80 percent of marine pollution originates from land. "Waste that pollutes and damages marine bioquality comes from the shoreline, including waste from developed countries dumped in the waters of countries with weak maritime regulations," she stated. This issue increasingly affects the balance of ecosystems, not only in the sea but also on land, such as fish impacted by plastic waste and other hazardous pollutants.

Furthermore, the Chemical Engineering lecturer and former manager of an international NGO in Aceh stated that plastic is one of the most challenging wastes for nature to decompose. Therefore, it is advised to reduce and even cease the use of plastic-containing materials in various human needs. "It is time to use synthetic plastics that can be decomposed by nature. Economically, synthetic plastic is cheaper," she suggested.

For some time now, Rozanna, as she is called, has been developing research related to the production of bioplastics or environmentally friendly plastics (degradable plastics). Although this effort is not yet mainstream in the industrial world, it must be done for environmental preservation. The United Nations itself, in its sustainable development goals, mandates the production of environmentally friendly materials, including bioplastics, she remarked.

Currently, the technological development efforts that must be undertaken are to produce "waste" that will not become environmental and humanitarian problems in the future. The use of plastics that are easily decomposed by natural processes and do not contain ecotoxic substances must be carried out for the sake of saving humanity," she concluded philosophically.