{"id":120,"date":"2024-11-19T14:45:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T19:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2026-06-01T08:55:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T12:55:39","slug":"events-and-conferences","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/events-and-conferences\/","title":{"rendered":"Events &amp; Conferences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">Upcoming Symposium<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Reducing Marine Debris at the Source: Finding Alternatives to Single-Use Plastic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>A Research-to-Application Symposium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">University of Maine researchers and Maine Sea Grant partners will present findings and prototypes developed with support from a NOAA National Sea Grant Marine Debris Challenge Grant. Guest speakers will be invited to share alternative products, reusable food packaging systems, and case studies in developing alternatives to single-use plastic using biodegradable materials from forests, oceans, and agricultural bi-products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Symposium Details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dates:<\/strong> September 21 \u2013 22, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/dir\/\/Wells+Conference+Center,+University+of+Maine,+131+Munson+Rd,+Orono,+ME+04469\/@44.8987136,-68.667136,5564m\/data=!3m1!1e3!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cafb1690421affd:0xdc6c538ba72d117e!2m2!1d-68.6713146!2d44.9022035?entry=ttu&amp;g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDUyNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/dir\/\/Wells+Conference+Center,+University+of+Maine,+131+Munson+Rd,+Orono,+ME+04469\/@44.8987136,-68.667136,5564m\/data=!3m1!1e3!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cafb1690421affd:0xdc6c538ba72d117e!2m2!1d-68.6713146!2d44.9022035?entry=ttu&amp;g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDUyNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D\">Wells Conference Center<\/a>, University of Maine, 131 Munson Rd, Orono, ME 04469<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Starting:<\/strong> Monday, Sept 21 at 9:00 AM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Program Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Day 1 (Monday, Sept 21):<\/strong> Focuses on <strong>Materials Research, New Product Development, and Consumer Engagement<\/strong>. Highlights include talks and panel sessions by research and industry experts, a Poster Session, and a Research Prototype Exhibition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Day 2 (Tuesday, Sept 22):<\/strong> Focuses on <strong>Case Studies, Commercialization, and Policy Interventions<\/strong>. Highlights include a hands-on learning activity and a Policy &amp; Intervention Roundtable discussing the future of single-use plastics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Attendee Logistics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Meals:<\/strong> <strong>Lunch<\/strong> will be provided on both Monday and Tuesday at 12:30 PM and an <strong>evening reception\/dinner<\/strong> will be provided on Monday after the poster session.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1jJ9f8ZTZ7ibGpOPKysG23IQ90zBGs9hk\/view?usp=drive_link\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1jJ9f8ZTZ7ibGpOPKysG23IQ90zBGs9hk\/view?usp=drive_link\">Click the link for nearby lodging, transportation, and dining options<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have any questions regarding your registration or require further assistance, please contact our coordinating team at harsha.james@maine.edu<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We look forward to seeing you in September!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upcoming Symposium Reducing Marine Debris at the Source: Finding Alternatives to Single-Use Plastic A Research-to-Application Symposium University of Maine researchers and Maine Sea Grant partners will present findings and prototypes developed with support from a NOAA National Sea Grant Marine Debris Challenge Grant. Guest speakers will be invited to share alternative products, reusable food packaging [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2152,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/page-withsidebar.php","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-120","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"awhitman","author_link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/author\/awhitman\/"},"comment_info":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":691,"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions\/691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/marine-debris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}