Sam Hill participated in The Plastic Waste and Microplastic Research Conference

Earlier this week Dr Sam Hill, Technical and Flooring’s Innovation Manager, participated in The Plastic Waste and Microplastic Research Conference at Lancaster University, which was held at The Storey in Lancaster.

Sam sat on a panel that discussed different aspects of plastic research. The conversation focused on how various research teams are looking at plastics and waste helping PhD students understand the importance of working in collaboration to further develop their projects.

The conference looked at how plastic waste and microplastics are potentially the biggest global environmental challenges and climate change, and how the two are not unlinked. The panellists also discussed how microplastics have infiltrated all parts of the food chain and are now being found in nearly all human organs.

Sam said: “Being involved in this workshop has been an absolute pleasure. The conversations have been very worthwhile, with lots of interesting points to take away. One of the reasons I was keen to be involved was to support the PhD students who have been in attendance. They are the future and will be key in helping the fight against plastics and innovating ways for businesses to be more sustainable.”

Before working at The Vita Group as our Innovation Manager, Sam graduated with a PhD in Electrically conductive polymers for application to textiles – School of Chemistry, University of Leeds. He has a wealth of knowledge from working across a number of roles within the plastics industry. He started his career as a development chemist at Uniroyal Global where he worked on the development and production of plasticised PVC/coated fabrics for the automotive sector and later went on to be Head of Technical and Innovation at Bright Green Plastics Ltd which is a plastics recycling facility for post-consumer PP and HDPE waste.