Armena, Maria Monica A. <br/><br/>
Identification and characterization of microplastic in snow cabbage (bassica rapa) and water spinach (ipomoca aquatica) from urban farm in quezon city, philippines/ 
Maria Monica A. Armena, Kate Leira M. Borgonia, Rechelle T. Ga-as, and Cleothelde Sarah S. Ramos.-- 
 - Manila:	  Technological University of the Philippines,	  2025. 
 - viii, 140pages:  29cm. 
<br/><br/> Bachelor's thesis<br/> 
<br/><br/>College Of Science.--<br/> 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographic references and index. 
<br/><br/> Microplastic pollution has emerged as a significant environmental concern in<br/>agricultural settings, where its occurrence, sources, and community awareness remain<br/>largely underexplored. This study addresses the critical research gap regarding the<br/>microplastic presence in Snow Cabbage (Brassica rapa) and Water Spinach (Ipomoea<br/>aquatica) grown on an urban farm in Quezon City. Given the city's dense population and<br/>the increasing popularity of urban farming, understanding microplastic contamination is<br/>essential for ensuring food quality and public health. The objectives aim to isolate,<br/>characterize, and identify microplastics from the agricultural soil, water, and plant<br/>tissues, to compare the morphology and polymer composition of the isolated MPs from<br/>all of the samples, and to assess the community's awareness of microplastic<br/>contamination. These objectives were accomplished via composite sampling (soil),<br/>manual grab sampling (water), purposive sampling (vegetable samples), and convenience<br/>and snowball sampling (survey). A total of 144 suspected microplastics were isolated<br/>from various samples, but only 86 microplastics were confirmed through FTIR analysis.<br/>The most frequently observed microplastics were color blue and predominantly fragment<br/>shaped. The majority of microplastics fell within Class 5, and FTIR identification<br/>revealed that Polyphenylene sulfide and Polyacrylamide were the most abundant types<br/>present across all samples. Farmer survey unveiled that many agricultural practices<br/>employed on farm might potentially contribute to microplastic contamination. While<br/>community survey results exhibit a positive perception and strong agreement among<br/>respondents regarding the farm’s role in enhancing food accessibility and quality, as well<br/>as a moderate level of environmental awareness about microplastic contamination. 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Microplastic <br/>Urban agriculture<br/>Quezon city
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>BTH BF 41   / A76 2025