Reducing the environmental impact of single-use plastics
Research on the environmental impacts of plastics influenced decision-making for businesses and both national and international governments.
Issue
Microplastics (pieces <5mm) are the most abundant solid waste on Earth. The threat that microplastic litter can pose to individual organisms is quite well understood, but less is known about the harm caused to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Approach
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University undertook experiments with natural, flowing seawater and intact sediment cores. This provided evidence that the addition of microplastics alters nutrient cycling by decreasing the flux of inorganic nutrients from sediment.
The research also demonstrated that smoked cigarette butts reduce the germination success and shoot length of plants.
Impact
The research ensured that the British Standards Institute’s (BSI) publicly available specification for a new standard of biodegradation of plastics in open air terrestrial environments (PAS9017) better accounted for assessing potential ecotoxicological impacts.
Dr Dannielle Green was nominated as a technical expert to the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).
Interventions, along with the submission of supporting evidence, led to specific changes in both the testing of plastic components and the methods used to test plastic.
More information
Institution: Anglia Ruskin University
Researchers: Dr Dannielle Green, Dr Bas Boots, Leon Stone
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How to cite
Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (2023) Reducing the environmental impact of single use plastics. Available at https://rgs-rebuild.netcprev.co.uk/singleuseplastics Last accessed on: <date>
Featured image: Sören Funk / Unsplash