It is estimated that five million tonnes of plastic is used in the UK each year, nearly half of which is packaging that ends up in the environment. Plastic waste is accumulating and breaking down in our oceans at an alarming rate, with potentially catastrophic results for both marine and human health.
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.”
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. In developing our Hydropol materials platform we have always been driven by providing a complete solution for the packaging developers and manufacturers from multifunctionality to safe disposal at end of use.”
“However, we have always been mindful that inevitably plastic materials escape into the environment and often end up in the oceans, and although this has come to the forefront in recent times, actually there is very little understanding of exactly how these materials behave in the variety of marine environments. 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.”
