Team:BGU-Israel/Human Practices
This year we chose to focus on wet-wipes and its immense damage to the environment. Presently, those wipes hold a major threat to the environment and are considered among the most polluting substances in existence. The main problem in Israel so as in the rest of the world, is that tones of wipes (both synthetic and cellulose based fibers) are thrown into the sewage. The public today is not aware of the problem, and garbage management awareness is urgently needed.
Wet wipes have become widely used from the beginning of the 21st century due to its lightweight and low cost of production. It is a highly stable polymer that due to its chemical properties degrades very slowly. The widespread usage of wet wipes over the years, in addition to its chemical properties, led to its accumulation and clogging of sewer systems.
We chose to tackle the problem from a biological standpoint, using engineered enzymes and bacteria. This solution holds a great promise in improving our quality of life and may aid in alleviating the impending threat that wet wipes waste holds to the quality of our drinking water. Using advanced methods in genetic engineering and synthetic biology we aim to increase the productivity of enzymes that are part of the degradation mechanism.
Throughout the process, we aim to increase awareness in our society to environmental topics, especially the damages caused by wet-wipes and the need to recycle and reduce its usage.
In many cases, the public is not aware of the simple fact that wet-wipes should not be flushed down the toilet. Even the "flushable" or disposable wipes are not truly flushable – this term only describes the standard size of the wet wipe to go down the toilet, but it does not mean it breaks down.
This problem is even more urgent than ever, now that use of disinfectant wipes is spiking due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We read reports about clogged municipal wastewater systems and costly repairs from all over the world.
As part of our Human Practices activities, and to raise the awareness of the issue of using wet-wipes, one of our outreach activities was a virtual lesson for High School students at one of the regional schools in Beer-Sheva, the city where our university is located. We spoke with them about Synthetic Biology in general, and about the wet wipes clogging problem in particular. It was super interesting and led to productive conversations and brainstorming. Some of the pupils are thinking about studying biology when they grow up, so it also felt very meaningful for them to participate in a webinar like the one that we have organized.
After the lesson, we talked to Maayan their teacher. She said that the pupils had so much fun and it was super interesting for them, and they hope that our development will work out.
She also said that our idea gives a great biological solution for the situation today, and they will be happy to help from the educational side, by Science teachers, in spreading the awareness to the role and significance of decreasing the use of wet-wipes and not flushing them down the toilet amongst their students.
Human Practices - Overview
A Virtual Class for High-School Students