Trash Talk: The story of the shearwater and the bottle cap
A seminar by Dr Alex Bond from The Natural History Museum and ERI
Plastics are a diverse array of polymers used in manufacturing products for industrial, commercial, and residential markets. They are long-lasting, durable, inexpensive, and as a consequence production has increased exponentially since the 1950s to more than 300 million tonnes produced annually (roughly 1.5x the annual production of steel). But the very qualities that make plastics desirable materials for manufacturing have dire consequences for the environment, and each year, >8 million items end up in the world’s oceans. Once there, these plastics act as sponges to absorb hydrophobic contaminants from the surrounding water, and are then often ingested by marine animals. Over the last decade, our research has demonstrated the severity of the problem for some of the most affected species, the consequences of plastic ingestion for marine wildlife, and the rapid accumulation in the most remote regions of the world.
Wednesday 27th February – 5.15pm
ERI Castle Street Thurso Caithness KW14 7JD
