Using systems mapping to understand the constraints and enablers of solutions to plastic pollution.

Plastic pollution is now considered globally ubiquitous, irreversible, and a planetary boundary threat. Solutions are urgently needed but their development and application are hampered by the complexity and scale of the issue. System dynamics is a technique used to understand complex behaviours of systems through model building and is useful for conceptualising the relationships between various interacting, dynamic factors, and identifying potential intervention points within the system where specific policies or innovations might have the greatest impact or meet with the greatest resistance.

Identifying potential high-risk zones for land-derived plastic litter to marine megafauna and key habitats within the North Atlantic.

The pervasive use of plastic in modern society has led to plastic litter becoming ubiquitous within the ocean. Land-based sources of plastic litter are thought to account for the majority of plastic pollution in the marine environment, with plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, food containers and cutlery among the most common items found. In the marine environment, plastic is a transboundary pollutant, with the potential to cause damage far beyond the political borders from where it originated, making the management of this global pollutant particularly complex.

Prevalence of microplastics in Peruvian mangrove sediments and edible mangrove species.

Mangrove ecosystems have been hypothesised as a potential sink of microplastic debris, which could pose a threat to mangrove biota and ecological function. In this field-study we establish the prevalence of microplastics in sediments and commercially-exploited Anadara tuberculosa (black ark) and Ucides occidentalis (mangrove crab) from five different zones in the mangrove ecosystem of Tumbes, Peru. Microplastic were evident in all samples, with an average of 726 ± 396 microplastics/kg for the sediment, although no differences between the different zones of the mangrove ecosystem were observed.

Microplastic shape influences fate in vegetated wetlands.

Coastal areas are prone to plastic accumulation due to their proximity to land based sources. Coastal vegetated habitats (e.g.