Kathy’s final PhD presentation!

Kathy, a well-loved member of the marine debris family, gave her final PhD presentation yesterday after years of hard work and dedication. As usual, Kathy’s personality and passion shone throughout her talk, and this photo captures her relief and excitement perfectly – she is soon to become Dr Kathy!

Kathy is from the small town of Yolla on the north-west coast of Tasmania. She spent her childhood curiously picking up pretty things on the beach and has now somehow turned that into a career. Kathy has just completed a PhD through UTAS on the effectiveness of local management at reducing plastic pollution, using Australian local governments as a case study. Early July, she is heading to the University of Washington, Seattle, to start a Fulbright Post-doc fellowship and continue researching solutions to plastic pollution.

We wish you the very best of luck on your new adventure Kathy! We will miss you!

 

More info about Kathy’s presentation:

The effectiveness of local management at reducing plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is coined as a global issue with local solutions. Understanding how crucial on-ground local waste management teams are responding to the exponential rise in plastic pollution and what styles of management strategies are best at reducing it can enable management teams to maximise their impact. I conducted the first continent-wide evaluation of municipal government strategies to evaluate the relationship between such strategies and coastal litter. Focusing on Australian municipalities, the research undertaken explored what strategies have been used to reduce plastic pollution, whether these strategies have changed over a 6-year period, what has driven municipalities to change their strategies, and the effect changes in strategies have had on plastic pollution in the Australian coastal environment.