/
partner with:

plastic pollution

number of breaks: 5

showing 1-5 of 5 breaks

Using satellites to look for floating plastics in the ocean

Plastics in the marine environment pose a significant threat to marine life. Macroplastics entering ocean waters have two fates - floating on the surface, or sinking. If not removed by clean-up operations, they may harm or even kill marine life through entanglement or ingestion, and/or... click to read more

  • Lauren Biermann | Marine Earth Observation Scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK
  • Dan Clewley | Earth Observation Research Software Engineer at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK
Views 5647
Reading time 4 min
published on May 26, 2021
Plastic is fantastic, but recycling is no magic

Plastic has been unbeaten for decades as the top packaging material. Plastic materials are lightweight, flexible and durable, and can easily undergo a plethora of recycling processes without being irreversibly damaged. Why then, do substantial amounts of unused plastic material end up going to waste? Plastic... click to read more

  • Olivier A. Kirchhoffer | PhD Student at School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Views 3760
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Apr 9, 2021
Microfibers in the ocean: are they all made of plastic?

Textile microfibers are fine strands of thread used to make clothing, carpeting and a myriad of very common household items like mops, table cloths and curtains. With use, these fibers are released and can now be found in the air we breathe, the water we... click to read more

  • Giuseppe Suaria | Research Scientist at CNR-ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences – National Research Council), Lerici, Italy
Views 5044
Reading time 4 min
published on Feb 2, 2021
All guts, no glory: ingested microplastics in marine mammals

Microplastics (pieces less than 5 mm in size) have now been discovered in a wide range of aquatic habitats, from deep-sea sediments to seemingly pristine tropical beaches. Their small size and omnipresence mean that microplastics can be eaten by animals at the base of the... click to read more

  • Sarah Nelms | Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Views 5892
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 11, 2019
The Pacific is drowning in plastic

Halfway between the coastal beaches of Southern California and the paradise islands of Hawaii lies the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) - a patch of plastic debris covering a vast area of the oceanic surface. Despite the name, it is not a compact garbage island... click to read more

  • Beata Kusmider | PhD student at Department of Molecular Biology, Section of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Views 6653
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Apr 15, 2019