Plastic: its ubiquity and longevity is having a significant impact on the marine environment. That鈥檚 the diagnosis of one of the world鈥檚 leading experts in the field, Professor Richard Thompson, who is providing evidence to show the escalating presence of microscopic plastic particles in our oceans. It is research that has catapulted Richard into an advisory capacity with policy-makers and conservation agencies worldwide.
鈥淲e live in a disposable society, where 30 per cent of the plastic we produce is used for packaging that we throw away within a year of manufacture,鈥
said Richard, who has been researching the topic for more than 20 years.
鈥淵ou can understand why we produce so much plastic 鈥 it鈥檚 incredibly useful, it lasts a long time and is lightweight 鈥 but it鈥檚 also creating a global waste management problem, and this is especially true in the marine environment.鈥
Using archived plankton samples held at the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS), Richard and his team have showed that the abundance of small fragments of plastic, which they described as 鈥榤icroplastic鈥, has increased significantly since the 1960s. The findings of this first study on microplastics were published in the journal Science in 2004. Ten years on and there is global scientific interest on the topic of microplastics with hundreds of scientific publications. One of the most recent papers, co-authored by Richard, was an invited 'Perspectives' article published in Science to summarise a decade of work on the topic.
Since his first description of microplastics, and funded by bodies such as the Leverhulme Trust, his team have demonstrated that a range of organisms ingest microplastics and that in some contexts these particles can transfer contaminants from sea water to marine life. With funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), one of Richard鈥檚 current lines of enquiry is establishing the extent to which microplastics might cause harm in the marine environment.
He said:
鈥淲e know that plastic undergoes continued fragmentation in the water. We can see the damage caused by large items when they鈥檙e swallowed by animals or ensnared in them, but the evidence as to the potential impacts from microplastics needs further research. I鈥檓 constantly asked 鈥榳hat should we do to reduce the problem of plastic waste in our oceans?鈥 and this has become a major strand of my work.鈥
Richard has presented his findings to the UK House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, the European Parliament, and to US Secretary of State Senator John Kerry. Richard has also worked with the United Nations Environment Programme to identify 鈥楪lobal and Regional Solutions to the Marine Debris Problem鈥, and recently presented to the European Commission Confere