Environment and Plastics Research Network

Understanding and tackling the impacts of plastic pollution.

The environmental impact of plastics presents an urgent global challenge where science-led interventions, sustainable policies, and changes in our use of plastics are crucial.

To tackle the problem, it’s vital that we consider the whole lifecycle of plastics from manufacturing and distribution to their safe disposal. The need to understand and reduce interactions with organisms and ecosystems is urgent and we need to address impacts on human health. Changes in behaviour and the pursuit of solutions are key.

Our research network harnesses the reputation for research across the university, uniting scientific understanding of plastics from the School of Chemistry, School of Engineering, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences and School of Medicine. By bringing together researchers from these disciplines, we can provide the solutions to solve this global problem.

We aim to build on the university’s track record of internationally-leading research on plastics to foster partnerships, build collaborations and deliver research with impact.

Objectives

To achieve our objectives, we are:

bringing together the plastic research community across the university
working with stakeholders, industry and policy-makers to address plastics pollution to deliver real-world change
prioritising our research focus to seek sustainable funding