INTERVIEW WITH MIA DIPIETRO

We caught up with, Mia!

HP: Why do you choose to support Charleston Waterkeeper?

MP: Growing up, I have always been drawn to the water and I always wanted to do something to help it from being destroyed. I choose to support Charleston waterkeeper as they do exactly
that. They believe clean and healthy waterways are essential to both the environment and the
community in it. Through my studies at College of Charleston, I have seen and learned firsthand
how plastic pollution and poor water quality has impacted marine ecosystems and Charleston
waterkeeper actively monitors water quality and microplastics and advocates for policies and
change that protect our waterways making a huge difference and it’s all i have ever wanted to
be apart of and I choose to do the same thing and will forever support all that they do.

HP: What is your favorite way to enjoy clean water?

MP: There’s so many things that I do to enjoy clean water like swimming or just spending time by the
water like reading a book on the beach or looking for shells and shark teeth.

HP: What is your favorite waterway in Charleston?

MP: Folly Beach is definitely my favorite waterways in Charleston! I always find all different kinds of shells especially after a storm and definitely has one of the best views for sunsets.

HP: Tell us about what you have been working on or a recent project

MP: For over a year, I’ve been working on a recovery experiment with Charleston Waterkeeper to
help improve the accuracy of their Community Scientists Microplastic Monitoring Program. The
volunteers in this program do incredible work collecting data on microplastic pollution in
Charleston’s waterways, but like any scientific process, it’s important to ensure the methods are
as accurate and reliable as possible. That’s where my project comes in.

Working alongside Britney from Charleston Waterkeeper, I’ve been developing a quality
assurance test to strengthen the program’s methodology. The goal is to verify that volunteers
are recovering the expected amount of microplastics from water samples, ensuring the data
they collect is scientifically sound. To do this, I create my own microplastics (which is way harder
than it sounds!) by cutting and preparing them in controlled amounts, and I’ve spent a lot of time
experimenting with different ways to introduce them into collected water samples in a spike test..
It essentially is a controlled way to test the program’s accuracy.

One of my biggest challenges has been figuring out a simple, consistent way to add
microplastics into water samples without altering the volunteer process. That’s where my idea for effervescent “soda tablets” came in. These tablets contain a precise number of microplastics and dissolve when dropped into a water sample, allowing volunteers to follow their standard monitoring procedures. By comparing the amount of microplastics recovered to the known amount introduced, we can calculate a percent recovery rate, which helps validate and improve
the program’s methodology. It’s been a long process of trial and error, but I love that this project is helping to make community-driven science even stronger. Knowing that my work is helping people collect better data and ultimately helping to protect our waterways makes all the effort worth it!

HP: Tell us something interesting about yourself that we might not know

MP: I’m a huge Star Wars fan… seriously, I could talk for hours about why Revenge of the Sith is a
masterpiece and could probably hold a full conversation in quotes from the movies, But beyond
that, I also have a passion for hockey (especially watching the New York Rangers) and line
dancing. Being from up north, line dancing is not popular at all and is something you would
probably never expect from me but it’s one of my favorite ways to unwind, have fun, and just
enjoy all different types of music.

Mia DiPietro, Marine Biology & Environmental and Sustainability Senior, College of Charleston