Tag: University of Portsmouth

Counting plastic reveals hidden waste and sparks action

Stuart Mitchell

Online supermarket shopping is fuelling Britain’s plastic waste crisis because packaging is less visible to consumers, according to new research from the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth.  The study found that nearly half of UK households underestimate how much plastic they throw away each week, a phenomenon researchers call “plastic blindness”. Those who relied most heavily on online grocery deliveries were especially likely to be shocked by the volume of waste they consumed.  “We believe plastic blindness is a coping strategy,” explains lead author Dr Kate Whitman of the Revolution Plastics Institute. “Consumers have…

Read More

Road pollution ‘stressing’ ocean life with complex chemical cocktails, new study finds

Stuart Mitchell

Chemicals released from car tyres as they wear down are washing into rivers, estuaries and the sea and they could be disrupting life at the base of the marine food web, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth found that just four days of exposure to three common tyre-derived chemicals significantly slowed the growth of tiny marine algae known as diatoms – single-celled plants that produce oxygen and support entire ocean ecosystems. The study focused on a species called Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a diatom that like others,…

Read More

Microplastics are everywhere – but our methods to track them are all over the place

Stuart Mitchell

A new study from the University of Portsmouth has highlighted the growing role of citizen science in tackling one of the planet’s most pervasive pollution problems: microplastics and mesoplastics. While researchers often warn that a lack of standardised protocols risks muddying the waters, this research shows that public involvement could be key to plugging the data gaps and that comparability rather than conformity is key. The study compared three leading sampling protocols across coastal sites in southern England. These methods included two citizen science sampling protocols, the Big Microplastic Survey…

Read More

UK is falling behind international efforts as microplastics infiltrate food, bodies, and ecosystems

Stuart Mitchell

Researchers warn the UK is falling behind international efforts as microplastics infiltrate food, bodies, and ecosystems The UK government must urgently draw up a comprehensive national strategy to tackle microplastic pollution or risk falling further behind international efforts to address one of the most pervasive environmental threats of our time, researchers have warned. A new policy brief, delivered to MPs earlier this  month by the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre, outlines the growing scale of the crisis and calls for a coordinated UK roadmap with clear targets and…

Read More

University of Portsmouth hosts event to advance national reuse systems

Stuart Mitchell

Reuse systems take a significant step forward as leading international experts met in Portsmouth last month to develop a future policy blueprint for implementing reuse systems. Hosted by the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre (GPPC), the event brings together 50 key stakeholders, including academics, reuse businesses, policymakers, NGOs, producer responsibility organisations (PROs), and policy think tanks. With global plastic waste reaching record levels, reuse systems, in which single-use plastic items are replaced by reusable items, are increasingly recognised as a more economically and environmentally beneficial solution to the…

Read More