The University of Portsmouth will see a group of PhD students conduct plastic pollution research

Five PhD students have been fully funded for four years, will start exploring the problem of marine pollution from plastic packaging.

This research at the University of Portsmouth is being supported by the technology company, Aquapak and the study hopes to help aid a solution to the problem that is constantly growing across the world.

It is estimated that nearly five million tonnes of plastic are used in the UK annually and half of which sees the packaging back in the environment, which has a potential detrimental effect on the problem of pollution.

Professor Steve Fletcher, Director of Revolution Plastics and the Global Plastics Policy Centre, at the University of Portsmouth said: ‘Relatively little is known about how and what speed plastic packaging degenerates in the environment and how industry practice could help to end the damaging impact of plastics.

‘In order to develop meaningful solutions, it is vital to better understand the products causing the pollution, how they pollute and how their damage can be reduced. Research is key to shaping that understanding and the transformational change that will follow. Having a dedicated team of scientists is really going to help accelerate our search for solutions.’

The group of PhD students will deliver a total of 20 years of research which will be applied on top of the university’s pre-existing studies on tackling plastic pollution and they will take part in a number of studies across the four years.

These studies will include looking into engineering enzymes, the development of sustainable biodegradable packaging for food, assessments of the formation of microplastic pollution by pure and composite plastic packaging products and will look into the role of ‘design for circularity’.

Dr John Williams, Chief Technology Officer, Aquapak said: ‘Aquapak is delighted to be partnering with the University of Portsmouth in such an important area studying marine pollution associated with plastic packaging.

‘Aquapak’s sponsorship of this ground-breaking interdisciplinary approach with the global experts at the University of Portsmouth will significantly increase the knowledge in this area, and aid the drive towards better design, better materials and a cleaner environment.’