Hi! My name is Elle. I’m 18 years old and I live in the Netherlands. I’m currently in my final year of grammar school and chose subjects related to nature and technology. I like exploring, connecting with people and playing sports. I’m excited to participate and can’t wait to see you all in Stockholm!
Tell us what the water concern in your country is!The sewage is polluted with pharmaceutical residues to such an extent that these large amounts can hardly be filtered out. This has major consequences for both nature and our drinking water. This problem will only increase in the coming years and therefore requires a proper approach.
This is what I think is one of the solutions for a sustainable future:I think the most important but also most difficult step toward a sustainable future is changing people's habits. We ourselves are the source of pollution, so we must invest in changing our behavior. At the same time it's important to continue encouraging people to come up with innovative ideas to improve water treatment. We came up with a way to reduce drug residues in surface water using toilet paper!
Reducing pharmaceuticals in surface water
Many pharmaceuticals used daily by millions of people end up in the sewer. Because these molecules are small, they are difficult to filter out of sewage. The drug residues thus enter surface water, posing a threat to the water chain. To address this problem, research was conducted to see if it is possible to develop toilet paper that will bond with the drug residues, so that they are better removed from sewage. Lignin, a common network polymer in plants, was found to bond well with the micropollutants. Our research showed that it is possible to significantly reduce the pollutant pharmaceuticals in surface water using toilet paper containing lignin.
