On 7 July 2026, Milica Velimirovic (VITO) participated in the kick-off event of the Belgian Plastic Pollution Research Community (BPPRC) held in Ghent, Belgium. The event gathered over 40 experts from 10 Belgian universities, research institutes, and 3 policy-related bodies.
The BPPRC is a collaborative network of Belgian researchers dedicated to understanding, monitoring, and addressing plastic pollution in Belgian ecosystems and beyond. Their mission is to bring scientists, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders together to advance knowledge on plastic pollution, understand environmental and human health effects, support risk assessment and mitigation measures, as well as evidence-based solutions for a litter-free environment, and advance the scientific state-of-the-art.
In the meeting, Milica engaged with this interdisciplinary platform in thematic focus groups mapping Belgian expertise in microplastics, ecotoxicological effect studies, and human health risk assessments. By participating in these discussions, Milica also in front of SSbD4CheM advocated for the integration of Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) principles early in the lifecycle of materials to mitigate the very plastic pollution and toxicity challenges highlighted by the community.
Read the whole recap on the website of the Belgian Plastic Pollution Research Community.
