Waste Not Want Not

Wessex Water and University of Bath are working together to better understand how human health impacts our environmental water quality. This research covers analysis of pharmacologically active substances and human health biomarkers in sewage which flows through the network and sewage treatment system into the aquatic environment. Collaboratively, we are assessing how human health and the public health responses impact the environment and the options for change. Change includes the treatment and prescribing opportunities to enable both environmental and societal health improvements.

Despite it being well established that the production of palm oil has a devastating impact on the environment, there is currently no economically viable sustainable alternative. In this talk, I will cover why palm oil is so ubiquitous, the factors driving increased demand for its use and the challenges faced by alternatives attempting to enter the market. I will also go into more detail about the work I conducted during my PhD, where I used evolution to supercharge everyone’s new favourite palm oil producing yeast, Metschnikowia pulcherrima.