On Tuesday, December 13 2023, Universitas Muhammadiyah Gresik (UMG) held another international seminar with the theme “International Seminar on Sustainability of Agricultural Food Resilience”. This event presented three speakers who are experts in the field of agriculture, namely Dr. Shazma Anwar from The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan, Ir. Endah Sri Redjeki, M.P., M.Phil., and Dr. Andi Rahmad Rahim, S.Pi., M.Sc., who was also a speaker at the seminar which was held at the UMG Sang Pencerah Hall. Apart from that, there is the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ir. Rahmad Jumadi, M.Kes., who also gave a speech at this event.

In this seminar, Dr. Shazma, lecturer and researcher from the University of Agriculture Peshawar, discusses how microplastic pollution is a threat to aquatic life. In 2009, a documentary video showed waste in the sea and the carcass of an albatross bird full of plastic waste such as bottle caps and toothbrush stems in its stomach.

Dr. Shazma also discussed plastic waste in Indonesian waters. Dr. Shazma said that plastic waste in Indonesia is one of the largest, and the largest amount is in East Java. According to research she conducted, Dr. Shazma found that the microplastic waste in East Java also came from burning plastic waste which is very common in East Java. She believes that vermicomposting can help reduce the amount of microplastic waste contamination.