SUSTAINABILITY
The historic island city of Portsmouth on the shores of the Solent is about to become home to a communityembedded research programme to rein in one of the twentieth century ’ s most pervasive technologies : plastic .
Teams of scientists have been assembled by the University of Portsmouth to engender a paradigm shift in the manufacture , use and disposability of this seductively convenient but pervasively polluting oil-based material , which has generated a contamination crisis on land and at sea .
Revolution Plastics , as the programme has been dubbed , has set out to create a new plastics economy based on improved recyclability , policy support from all tiers of government , and community engagement to achieve behavioural change in the use of plastics . It is part of the University ’ s overarching vision to turn Portsmouth into a community-supported ‘ sustainability hub ’ that will accumulate knowledge , experience and data to become a global model .
Portsmouth is seen as a microcosm of the technical , economic , societal and political hurdles that need to be cleared in most countries to stimulate fundamental changes to plastics life cycles and environmental management . Portsmouth is responsible for vulnerable coastal and marine environments , faces rising sea levels that threaten infrastructure , is adjacent to UNESCO ’ s Biosphere Reserve on the Isle of Wight , and has the UK ’ s highest urban population density outside London , with pockets of deprivation and poor health .
There is also a rising level of environmental awareness through local organisations and groups advocating urban sustainability , ocean conservation , renewable energy and plastic waste reduction . This is the community foundation that the University of Portsmouth and the City of Portsmouth intend to support and build upon .
An extensive survey of Portsmouth residents found most people are acutely aware of plastic pollution and microplastic contamination , along with climate change and energy issues . Almost all respondents said they had made some effort already to modify their uses of plastics , such as using alternative shopping bags , refusing plastic straws and increasing their recycling . The survey showed most people are keen to join efforts to reduce plastic waste to protect their local environment , but they require guidance , support and , critically , assurance they will not be the ones bearing the cost .
This is where the science – chemical , industrial , economic and social – comes in , and why project leader Professor Steve Fletcher says if the Portsmouth community can revolutionise the use and end-use of plastics as part of a larger sustainability platform , then any community in the world can . “ We see this being a pilot programme for the planet … an incubator for similar programmes in other cities , communities and countries ,” he says .
Only one per cent of people surveyed fell into the category of ‘ intransigent ’ – holding a view that individuals are powerless and therefore recycling or changing plastic use and consumption is pointless .
The survey found the main barrier , for the majority of people , is knowing what to do . People ’ s knowledge of the realities of climate change and environmental pressures , such as plastic pollution , is steadily increasing . What ’ s missing are clear , practical answers to questions that need to be asked ahead of purchasing and consumption decisions . Also missing is evidence that enough key players such as manufacturers , food and transport industries and governments are taking a lead .
8 REVOLUTION PLASTICS / 2023