Scientists

Scientists’ Declaration on the Need for Governance of Plastics Throughout their Lifecycles

In response to the most recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) global assessment on plastic pollution, we, the undersigned scientific experts, underscore that current practices of production, design, use and disposal of plastics have severe negative consequences for ecosystem health, biodiversity, human health including fertility and cancers, climate, sustainable livelihoods, cultural diversity and therefore human rights worldwide.

Approaches currently proposed for addressing plastics challenges which focus primarily on waste management and actions lower down the zero-waste hierarchy and are limited to pollution by marine litter do not adequately reflect the findings of UNEP’s Scientific Advisory Committee for Marine Litter and Microplastics, which concluded that a full life cycle approach is needed which principally focuses on prevention, reduction and redesigning problematic plastics out of the global economy.

The pollution caused by plastics throughout their life cycles is transboundary and transgenerational. Thus, the impacts of plastics are akin to climate change, biodiversity loss, ozone layer depletion and the effects of persistent organic pollutants, all of which already have associated multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in place today. We call on governments to support the establishment of a new global treaty based on independently peer-reviewed scientific consensus and local and Traditional Knowledge, Innovations and Practices (TKIP) of Indigenous peoples and local communities to meet the global scale of the plastics crisis at hand.

Virgin plastic production has risen from two million tonnes per year in 1950 to 367 million tonnes in 2020. This is projected to exceed one billion tonnes per year by 2050, and this production is a driver of climate change. Plastic leakage into the biosphere, as litter and as waste in managed systems, has also grown sharply in recent years and is projected to nearly triple from 2016 – 2040. Approximately seven billion of the estimated 9.2 billion tonnes of the plastics produced between 1950 and 2017 is now waste, three-quarters of which is either deposited in landfills or accumulating in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Irreversible, compounding and planetary-scale exposure of our environment, ecosystems and organisms, including humans, to plastics and associated toxic monomers, oligomers, additives, catalysts, polymerisation aids and non-intentionally added substances is occurring. While knowledge gaps remain, there is clear and unequivocal evidence that the pollution caused by plastics throughout their lifecycles is negatively impacting all levels of biological organisation, from the genetic and epigenetic, cellular and subcellular, through to organismal, population and ecosystem levels, contributing to biodiversity loss and adding to climate change. There is also evidence that the safe operating space for the ‘chemical pollution and novel entities’ planetary boundary (including plastic pollution) is already exceeded.

Furthermore, the economic costs of plastic pollution in the marine environment alone are significant. In 2018, it is estimated plastic pollution cost $6-19 billion globally from impacts on tourism, fisheries and aquaculture. This is expected to grow in line with projected production, trade and use trends. This number grossly underestimates the true costs since it does not account for lost future income through habitat degradation and ecological impacts contributing to biodiversity loss, nor does it include the substantial direct and indirect costs related to human health, cultural and societal wellbeing and further economic, social and environmental impacts that are difficult to quantify.

As experts who have read and contributed to the multidisciplinary literature on plastic pollution, based on empirical and applied research, we conclude that the rapid rise in plastic production has entirely omitted consideration of the precautionary principle, lacked recognition for the multiple negative externalities and lacked consideration for end-of-life at the design stage of plastic products.

We recognise the efforts taken by governments and organisations around the world to combat the plastics crisis but emphasise that no one country can tackle this deeply systemic challenge alone and that existing commitments will only facilitate a seven per cent reduction of plastic waste emissions to the environment. A largely unregulated plastics industry and the national and international policy frameworks that support and subsidise polluting industries present a grave threat to human and ecosystem health, human rights and climate stability. We also recognise that plastic recycling alone is not a solution to a problem of this magnitude since only a small portion and very few types of monomaterial plastics are currently recyclable, manufacturing with recycled materials requires the use of virgin plastics, the issue of toxic residues in recycled plastics is not being addressed, recycling carries its own environmental burden and recycling campaigns have often been used to increase rather than decrease plastic product consumption.

We identify restricting plastic production, designing product and delivery systems which support reuse and repair infrastructure, as well as alternative and in some cases traditional materials and new business models that avoid plastics as the most promising route towards plastic pollution prevention. We emphasise that existing relevant multilateral environmental agreements are fragmented and insufficient. As with the climate and biodiversity emergencies, connecting the actions of governments, businesses and citizens into effective global cooperation grounded in scientific consensus is critically important.

There is overwhelming evidence for immediate and decisive action at the global level to cap and phase down plastic production, standardise and reduce the diversity of plastics, plastic products and delivery systems, harmonise monitoring and reporting as well as ensuring compliance and enforcement to prevent and mitigate further harm.

Therefore, we hereby declare that a new legally binding global treaty is the appropriate response towards decisively tackling one of the most pressing human health, human rights, climate and man-made environmental crises of our time.

Such a treaty should strive to prevent and reduce the harm caused by current practices of plastic production, design, use and disposal, including pollution in the environment by promoting a non-toxic circular economy and addressing the full lifecycle of plastics. The ‘full lifecycle’ should include fossil fuel extraction for feedstock; monomer, polymer and additive production; product design and manufacture; transportation; consumption; waste collection; management; disposal and retrieval of legacy plastics.

We recommend the agreement include the following essential elements to ensure its effectiveness and utility:

  • Establish a credible, salient and agile scientific body to provide scientific, socio-economic and policy evidence and guidance in a democratic and open access manner to ensure the human right to science and freedom of information. Such a body should also ensure local and traditional knowledge, innovations and practices are shared with informed consent.
  • Specify objectives and establish measurable and time bound targets, universal definitions and indicators and harmonised data collection and analysis protocols inter alia.
  • Establish a standardised global framework for monitoring and reporting on plastic production, plastic product manufacture, trade, consumption, waste management and retrieval, alongside monitoring of plastic pollution including microplastics and plasticsrelated toxic pollutants in all environments (land, sea, freshwater, groundwater and air) and in biota with support from sustainable global funding mechanisms.
  • By 2030, substantially reduce virgin plastic production and plastic waste generation primarily through prevention and reduction and secondarily through reuse and non-toxic recycling in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG-12).
  • Address product design and use through rigorous safety and sustainability criteria for chemicals and products, including the prohibition or regulation of the use of additives, monomers, catalysts, polymerisation aids, intentionally added nano-and microplastics while enhancing repairability, durability for reuse, bio and eco-safety and allows for recycling only when it is safe and effective.
  • Require regular reporting on national, regional and international progress on implementation of the agreement.
  • Specify financial and technical arrangements, including technology transfer to support implementation of the agreement, while considering and responding to developing country needs.
  • Promote research and development into innovative reuse, refill, traditional and plastic-free solutions while ensuring a sufficient evidence-base to avoid regrettable substitutions and make choices grounded in scientific evidence.
  • Promote cooperation and coordination with relevant regional and international instruments and existing technical and scientific bodies to ensure synergies and avoid duplication.

Join the Call

If you are an expert individual or an institution who have read and contributed to the multidisciplinary literature on plastic pollution and you would like to join us in this call to action, please complete this form:

How will this declaration be used?

The scientists’ declaration is an initiative of the Environmental Investigation Agency, the Centre for International Environmental Law, and 15 multidisciplinary scientific experts from around the world.

It is intended to represent the consensus of the scientific community on this topic, both in terms of the severe risks presented by business-as-usual and the required global policy solutions. It will be used in advocacy efforts in the lead-up to and during the 5th UN Environment Assembly to influence the outcome of the upcoming treaty on plastics.

It will also be used throughout the treaty negotiations to provide a clear benchmark to decision-makers on what the treaty needs to do, and unite the scientific community around commonly agreed asks throughout this process.

Drafting Committee

Dr. Terry Collins, Carnegie Mellon University

Dr. Jane Muncke, Food Packaging Forum

Dr. Neil Tangri, GAIA

Associate Prof. Trisia Farrelly, Massey University

Dr. Sascha Fuller, University of Newcastle/SPREP

Dr. Steph Borrelle, BirdLife International

Dr. Shahriar Hosseni, ESDO

Malelili Rokomatu, Fiji Water

Professor Jorge Emmanuel, Silliman University

Dr. Leslie Adogame, SRADeV Nigeria / GAIA

Felipe Torres, University of Sao Paulo

Dr. Thomas Aneni, Sustainable Environment Development Initiative (SEDI)

Patricia Villarubia-Gomez, Stockholm University

Dr. Tosca Ballerini, THALASAA Marine Research

Professor Richard Thompson, OBE, Plymouth University


Signatories

INDIVIDUALS

Abigail Barrows, College of the Atlantic

Adegbile Oyeronke M, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research Victoria island Lagos

Adriana Isabelle Barbosa Lima, PhD, Sá Leitão, University of Pisa – Italy

Ajishnu Roy PhD, Guangzhou University

Alan Drljacic, BSc Sustainability

Alejandro Apolo Fernández Ajó, ICB / MMI-OSU

Alexandra Ghenea, EEB

Alexandre, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

Aline Grard, University of Liege

Alastair Iles, University of California, Berkeley

Aleksandra Kulic Mandic, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia

Alice Leney, Company Director of Pacific Reef Savers Ltd

Alfonso Navarro Carvallo, Elite SDGs Business Consulting

Alisi Tokalau Dimaicakau Rabukawaqa, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Amanda Millin, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego

Amila Abeynayaka, PhD, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

Amina Salamova, Emory University

Ana Bozovic, Institut of Nuclear Sciences “Vinča”, Serbia

Ana M. Soto, M.D Tufts University School of medicine

Ana Markic, Asia Pacific Waste Consultants

Anderson Ferreira, Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo

Andreia Neves Fernandes, UFRGS

Andrea Bonisoli Alquati, Cal Poly Pomona

Andrea Cocchini, Ph.D, Universidad de Navarra

Andrés Barbosa, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC

Andrew Paris, University of the South Pacific

Andy Booth, SINTEF Ocean

Ángel José Martínez Salinas, PhD, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México FCA

Angela Takayanagui, School of nursing at Ribeirão Preto at São Paulo University

Ann Blake, PhD, Environmental & Public Health Consulting

Anna Sanchez-Vidal, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

Anna Winkler, University of Milan

Anna-Maria Andersson, Dept. of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet and Center on endocrine disrupting chemicals

Anna Sanchez-Vidal, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain

Anne K. S. Justino, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco

Annett Finger, PhD, Victoria University Australia

Annika Jahnke, RWTH

April J Burt, Oxford University/Seychelles Islands Foundation

Arlini Dyah Radityaningrum, Environmental Engineering Departement, Institut Teknologi Adhi Tama Surabaya

Armando M. Guidote Jr., Ph.D, Ateneo de Manila University

Ashley E., King Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Aygün Karlı, Atılım Univesity

Babayemi Joshua Olajiire, Anchor University Lagos

Ben Wooliscroft, Auckland University of Technology

Beth  Polidoro, PhD, Arizona State University

Bethanie Carney Almroth, PhD, University of Gothenburg

Bethany Jorgensen, MA, Cornell University

Bethany Clark, BirdLife International

Betty Cernol McCann, PhD, Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities, Philippines

Bharath Ganesh Babu, Valparaiso University

Blandine DAVAIL, PhD, University of Bordeaux

Bonnie Hamilton, University of Toronto

Brenda Eskenazi ,Ph.D, University of California, Berkeley

Brendan Godley University of Exeter

Britta Denise Hardesty, Ph.D, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere

Bruno Walther Alfred Wegener Institute

BSc. Gabriel E. De-la-Torre Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola

BSc. Vitoria Milanez Scrich University of Sao Paulo

Camila Kneubl Andreussi Federal University of Santa Catarina – Brazil

Captain Charles Moore, Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research

Carlos Alberto Mendes Moraes, University Unisinos Brazil 

Cassandra Nelson, Ph.D, Rutgers University

Charlotte Lefebvre, University of Bordeaux

Chelsea Rochman, University of Toronto

Chiara Altobelli National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics

Chona Y. Fontelo-Javier, PhD Silliman University College of Agriculture

Christine Majeni, Wiblue

Christian Ebere Enyoh, Saitama University, Japan

Christina ZERI ,PhD, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research

Christine Figgenee, PhD, Footprint Foundation

Christine Liang, Southern Institute of Technology Christophe Maes

Christoph Rummel Helmholtz, Centre for Environmental Research

Coskun Eruz

Cristiano Carvalho Coutinho, UFRJ

Cynthia de Wit, PhD, Stockholm University

Cyndhia Ramatchandirane,  Earthjustice

Dannielle Green, Anglia Ruskin University

David O. Carpenter, MD, University at Albany

Daniel Wilson, University of Exeter

Daniela Duran Gonzalez, TNC

Daniela Tacconi, Arco Lab University of Florence

Dave Albao, Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation

Dave Arthur Robledo De La Salle, University

David N Collier MD, Ph.D, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Dee Kochirka, RN MA, Izaak Walton League

Décio Semensatto, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Brazil)

Delilah Lithner, PhD, Water Authority of the Kattegat and Skagerrak Water District

Deonie Allen University of Strathclyde

Dipani Sutaria, James Cook University

Dick Vethaak, VU University Amsterdam

Doris Knoblauch , Ecologic Institute, Berlin

Dorota Napierska, PhD, Zero Waste Europe

Dorte Herzke, NILU

Dr Abilio Soares-Gomes, Universidade Federal Fluminense

Dr Adam Porter, PhD, University of Exeter

Dr Alessandra Larissa D O Fonseca Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Brasil)

Dr Alexander L. Bond, Natural History Museum, London

Dr Alicia Mateos Cárdenas , University College Cork

Dr Amy Lusher, Norwegian Institute for Water Research

Dr Angelo Gilles, REM Consult

Dr. Agathe Bour, University of Roskilde

Dr Ankit Yadav, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali

Dr Anna Lennquist, ChemSec

Dr Anthony SF Chiu, De La Salle University 

Dr Britta Denise Hardesty, CSIRO

Dr Boniface Yeboah Antwi, CSIR-Institute of Industrial Research, Accra, Ghana.

Dr Camille Richon, Université de Bretagne Occidentale

Dr Carla Elliff, Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo

Dr Catherine Russell MGeol, University of Leicester & Louisiana State University

Dr Celia Regina de Gouveia Souza, Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais-SIMA/SP

Dr Ceri Lewis, University of Exeter

Dr Christos Symeonides, Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne

Dr Christelle Not, The University of Hong Kong

Dr Claudia Halsband, Akvaplan-niva

Dr Cristiano Lima Hackmann, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

Dr Dave Arthur Robledo, Ehime University

Dr Dativa Joseph Shilla Senior Lecturer, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Dr Delphine Lobelle, Utrecht University

Dr Dragana Čavlović, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Forestry, Department for Landscape Architecture and Horticulture

Dr Elvis Carissimi Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM)

Dr Eduardo Moreno, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid

Dr Eng. Wassim Chaabane, Waste management / circular economy policy expert

Dr Felipe R T, University of Sao Paulo

Dr Flávio Freitas, Amazon Biotechlogical Center

Dr Florian Pohl, University of Plymouth

Dr Francisco Barros Universidade Federal da Bahia

Dr Gabriel Sigmund , University of Vienna

Dr Gerson Fernandino, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

Dr Helena Andrade, Labcorp

Dr Hideshige, Takada Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technolgoy

Dr Ingvild Harkes Wageningen University

Dr Innocent Chidi Nnorom  Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria

Dr Ivana Jurin Society for the protection of Natural and Cultural heritage of the island of Silba-Croatia

Dr Juliane Glüge, ETH Zürich

Dr Josephine Vaughan Bsc(Arch) B(Arch), PhD, University of Newcastle, Australia

Dr Kathy Townsend  University of the Sunshine Coast

Dr Kathryn A Willis, PhD, University of Washington

Dr Kristian Syberg, Roskilde University

Dr Lauren Biermann, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Dr Leslie Adogame, Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADeV Nigeria)

Dr Maria Virginia Petry, Universidadde do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS

Dr Mary Gleason, The Nature Conservancy

Dr Mark Hartl, Heriot-Watt University

Dr Max Liboiron, PhD, RSC, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Dr Melanie Bergmann, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

Dr Michelle Blewitt, PhD, Australian Microplastic Assessment Project, Total Environment Centresment

Dr Miriam Weber HYDRA Marine Sciences GmbH Dr Rosanna Schöneich-Argent Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) e.V. | Friends of the Earth Germany

Dr Neha Mehta, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

Dr Nesrin Algan, Ankara University

Dr Nikola Zdolšek, “Vinca” Institute of Nuclear Sciences – National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade

Dr Nova Mieszkowska BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD, University of Liverpool & Marine Biological Association of the UK

Dr P. Karthikeyan, Ph.D

Dr. Panate Manomaivibool Mae Fah Luang University

Dr Rachel L Coppock, Plymouth Marine Laboratory

Dr.Robert Newton, Columbia University

Dr Roland Weber, POPs Environmental Consulting

Dr Sabine Rech, ESMOI Center for Ecology and Sustainable Management of Oceanic Islands, Universidad UCN

Dr Sascha Fuller, The University of Newcastle, Australia

Dr Shamik Dasgupta, Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Dr Sonia Maria Dias, WIEGO

Dr Stephanie Borrelle, Birdlife international

Dr Thierry Huck. Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), Brest, France

Dr Thomas Maes , GRID-ARENDAL

Dr Toby Samuels, BSc PhD Heriot-Watt University

Dr Tommaso Giarrizzo, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil

Dr Tridibesh Dey, Aarhus University

Dr Michel Ch, Liège University Aquarium-Natural History Muséum, Belgium

Dr P.Nammalwar Rajan, PhD, A.R.S(Agricultural Research Service) Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR)

Dr. Robson Guimarães dos Santos, Universidade Federal de Alagoas

Dr. Sedat Gundogdu, Çukurova University

Dr. Susanne Brander, Pacific Northwest Consortium on Plastics, Oregon State University

Dr Valentina Tartiu, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)

Dr Valerie Boll, South Australian Museum, Australia

Dr Vânia Baptista, Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR-UAlg)

Dr Viviana Colombo, Clinica Luganese

Dr Zahid Naeem Qaisrani Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences Quetta, Pakistan

Eddy Setiadi Soedjono, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS)

Edwin F. Romano, PhD, Negros Oriental State University

Efstathios Reppas Chrysovitsinos, PhD, Chalmers tekniska högskolan

Elci  S. Santos, Ma PHS

Eleni Iacovidou, Brunel University London

Elisa Rojo Nieto, PhD, UFZ- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

Elise Phillips, BS, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Emily Cowan, SINTEF Ocean

Emilie P. Dassié, UMR

Emily Venuti,  Usca

Enrique G. Oracion, PhD, Silliman University

Eppe, University Liège

Erin Murphy, Arizona State University

Florencia Trama, CDS

Fabian M. Dayrit, PhD, Ateneo de Manila University

Fabian Sá, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Brazil

Felipe Rodriguez Torres, PhD, USP

Farhan R. Khan, PhD, Norwegian Research Centre

Filipa Bessa, University of Coimbra MARE

Floramae Joyce Neri, Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences – Silliman University 

Francesca Del Falco, PhD, University of Plymouth

Francisca Ribeiro, University of Exeter

Francesco Regoli, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy

Francisco Gutib, BSME Silliman University

Fredeerick S. vom Saal, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia

Fredric Bauer, PhD, Lund University

Frederick S vom Saal, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia

Frederick S Vomsaal, PhD, Universitty of Missouri-Columbia

Freija Mendrik Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull

Frosyl F. Miguel, Ramon Magsaysay High School-Manila

Gail Woon, B.Sc., I am the Founder of EARTHCARE and I am a marine biologist.

Geetha P. N., Artificiallagoon International Pvt. Ltd

Gerd Liebezeit, MarChemConsult

Georgie Savage, University of Exeter

Gilbert Kuepouo, CREPD

Gilberto Binda, Norwegian Institute for Water Research

Giorgia Carratta, HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

Giovanni Vinti, PhD,  University of Brescia (Italy)

Giuseppe Suaria, CNR-ISMAR, Lerici, Italy

Gregory Fuchs, Ecologic Institute, Berlin

Grima, CNRS

Guido Pietroluongo, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science

Gustavo F. de Carvalho-Souza, Dr. UCA / UFBA / UCSal

Hanna Dijkstra, Institute for Environmental Studies – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Hannah De Frond, MSc, University of Toronto Trash Team & Ocean Conservancy

Hannes Schritt, Ecologic Institute, Germany

Heather Patisaul Ph.D North Carolina State University

Hans Peter Arp, NGI / NTNU

Helene Wiesinger, ETH Zürich

Hoseung Jung, OSEAN

Ifenna Ilechukwu, Environmental Chemistry Department, Madonna University, Nigeria

Ifte Ahmed, University of Newcastle

Imari Walker, PhD, Duke University

Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki, University of Vienna

Ingeborg G Hallanger

Inger Lise Nerland Bråte, NIVA

Irene Rego Haddad, HCWH

Isabel Marín Beltrán, PhD, Centro de Ciências do Mar do Algarve

Jack Buckingham, BSc, MSc (PhD in progress), University of Hull, Energy and Environment Institute, Plastics in the Environment Research Cluster

Jack Stein Grove, PhD, Marine Science Advisor Galapagos Education & Research Alliance University of Pennsylvania

Jacqueline Santos Silva-Cavalcanti UFRPE

James M. Coe, MMA, NOAA (ret.)

Jan A. van Franeker, Wageningen Marine Research

Jane Muncke, Food Packaging Forum Foundation

Janet Estacion, PhD, Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences, Silliman University

Jason McDevitt, PhD, William & Mary

Jeanette Rotchell, BSc MSc PhD FRSB , University of Hull

Jennifer Lavers University of Tasmania

Jeremy L. Conkle, PhD, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Jerome Cachot, University of Bordeaux, laboratory EPOC

Jerrold J. Heindel, Ph.D Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies

Jesse Harrison, PhD, CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd.

Joanna Vince PhD, University of Tasmania

Joel Tickner, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Johanne Tarpgaard, The Department of Anthropology, Aarhus Univeristy

John Peterson Myers, Ph.D, Environmental Health Sciences

Jongmyoung Lee, Oure Sea of East Asia Network

Jorge A. Emmanuel, PhD, Silliman University, Philippines

Jorge L. Nina Espinosa, American Public Health Association

Jorke Kamstra, Utrecht University

José, University of São Paulo  

Josefa Carandang, Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation

Juan Pablo Torres-Florez, PhD, ICMBio/CMA

Judith S Weis, PhD, Rutgers University

Juliana Ivar do Sul Leibniz, Institute for Baltic Sea Research 

Julie Peller Valparaiso university

Justin Boucher, Food Packaging Forum Foundation 

Justin Ho Guo Shun , United Nations Association of the Philippines

Justine Ammendolia, MSc Dalhousie University, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Halifax, Canada

Khamphe Phoungthong, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Karl Palmquist, PhD candidate, Rockefeller University

Katharine A. Owens, PhD, University of Hartford

Kathleen Burns, PhD, Sciencecorps

Kathleen Burns, PhD, Sciencecorps

Ken Geiser, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Kevin Thomas PhD, DSc, University of Queensland, Australia

Kiki Dethmers, Plastic Soup Foundation

Kimberly A. Warner, PhD, Oceana

Krishna Das, University of Liège

Kristian Parton, MbyRes University of Exeter

Kristian Syberg, PhD, Roskilde University

Kristina Cvejanov plastic rrcycling, packaging waste management

Ksenia Groh, PhD, Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

La Daana Kanhai, PhD, The University of the West Indies (St. Augustine)

Laetitia Nunny MSc, Wild Animal Welfare

Lara M. Pinheiro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande – Brazil

Laura Markley, Syracuse University

Laura Megan Hughes, University of Padua

Laurent Lebreton, The Ocean Cleanup

Le Plomb Eric, The SeaCleaners

Lena Gipperth , University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Liane Biehl Printes, UFSCar

Libby Harrison, PhD, Institute of Environmental Science and Research, New Zealand

Lidia Lima, Hospital de Clínicas of the Federal University of Paraná

Linda Mederake, MA, Ecologic Institute

Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD NIEHS/NTP and Duke University

Lisa Kaas Boyle, Esq. , Plastic Pollution Coalition

Lisa Zimmermann, PhD, Food Packaging Forum

Lisbet Sørensen, PhD, SINTEF Ocean

Louise Goodes, BSci, UWA, Minderoo Foundation

Lourdes J Cruz, PhD, University of the Philippines Diliman

Lucas Barbosa, Laboratório de manejo, ecologia e conservação marinha do Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo

Luciano Valenzuela, CONICET-UNCPBA, Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas

Luis Fernando Amato-Lourenco Sao Paulo Medical School – University of Sao Paulo

Lynn Sorrentino, IUCN

M. Strokal Wageningen, University

Madeleine Scammell, DSc. Boston University School of Public Health

Maja Grünzner, University of Vienna, Department of Cognition, Emotion and Methods in Psychology

Malleykhedi Ajay Kumar, Annamalai University

Mandy Hinzmann, Ecologic Institute Berlin

Manu Soto, University of the Basque Country

Marcelo Soares, Institute of Marine Sciences (LABOMAR), Federal University of Ceará (Brazil)

Maren Ortiz-Zarragoitia Plentzia Marine Station, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Marga L Rivas, University of Almeria

Margy Gassel, PhD, California Environmental Protection Agency (retired)

Maria del Prado Domercq Nuñez, Stockholm University

Maria Eugenia Molina Jack, Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale

Marianna Pinzone, University of Veterinary Medicine of Hanover, Foundation

Maricar Sison Prudente, PhD, De La Salle University

Marine Banse, University of Liège

Marjan Eggermont, PhD, Schulich School of Engineering

Mark C. Benfield, PhD, Louisiana State University

Mark Peter Simmonds, OBE, OceanCare

Mark S. Rossi, PhD, Clean Production Action

Markus Brinkmann, PhD, University of Saskatchewan

Martin Eriksson, Chalmers University of Technology

Martin Hassellöv University of Gothemburg,

Martin Scheringer ,Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, and ETH Zürich, Switzerland

Martin Wagner, PhD, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Matt Barlow, The University of Adelaide

Matthew MacLeod, PhD, Stockholm University

Matthew J. Hoffman, PhD, Rochester Institute of Technology

Matthew Miller, University of Victoria

Matthew Peryman, Massey University

Matthias Egger, PhD, The Ocean Cleanup

Maya Weeks, PhD

Megan Lamson, M. Sc., Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund

Melita Aguilar, Office of Information & Publications, Silliman University

Michael Karapetian earthday.org

Michelle Hall, Environmetal Practoce

Milica Lukić, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography, Belgrade, Serbia  

Miljana Tanic, Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia

Milton Cesar Calzavara Marcondes, Humpback Whale Institute

Mine Tekman, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research

Miquel Canals, University of Barcelona, Spain

Miquel Porta, IMIM UAB PRBB

Mónica Almeida, CESAM, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Monica Lind, Ph.D, Uppsala University

MSc. Hamilton Ortiz, Sucata Quântica

MSc Henrique de Medeiros Back, Federal University of Santa Catarina

Muhammad Reza Cordova, Ph.D National Research and Innovation Agency, Republic of Indonesia

Myra Hird, Queen’s University

Myra Hird, Queen’s University

Nadia Palomar-Abesamis Biology Department, Silliman University

Naiara Machado Casagrande, Nova School of Science and Technology

Nélida Catalina Pérez, Docente

Nicolas Kalogerakis, DiplChemEng, MEng, PhD, Technical University of Crete

Nicole Parsons, Citizen of Earth

Niko Urho, University of Massachusetts Boston

Nikola Zdolsek, “Vinca” Institute of Nuclear Sciences- National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade

Nina Orlow, ODS-SP 

Nino Pierantonio, Tethys Research Institute

Odei, University of Barcelona

Olga Pantos, Ph.D, Institute of Environmental Science and Research

Onameditse BBA IN OHS, Save the planet

Osama Abu-Libda, MSc. Pi Academy

Oswaldo Lucon, PhD, University of Sao Paulo

Pamela Miller, M.En., Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Parameswar Pal, Graduate student

Patricia Hunt, PhD, Washington State University

Patricia Pedrus (Patti), National Government

Patricia Villarrubia Gómez, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University

Patrick Dauby, University of Liège

Paul Boisseaux, University of Exeter

Paula Bonjorno da Silva

Paula Mendez Fernandez La Rochelle University

Paula Sobral, PhD, NOVA School of Science and Technology

Paulita Bennett-Martin, Oceana, Emory University, and Georgia State University

Pedro Guedes Ribeiro, USP

Premakumara Jagath Dickella Gamaralalage Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES),

Peter Orris, MD, MPH, FACP, FACOEM, University of Illinois School of Public Health

Peter Siegel, I teach about plastic soup

Peter Stoett, Ontario Tech University, Canada

Pierre Girard ,Federal University of Mato Grosso

Pierre-Jean Clausse, King’s College London

Piotr Barczak, Polish Zero Waste Assiciaion

Pierre Girard, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Prakash Mesta, Snehakunja Trust

Prof. Adrian Covaci, University of Antwerp

Prof. Deirdre McKay, BA MES PhD FRGS FRAI, Keele University

Prof Eric Parmentier, University of Liège

Prof. Frank Kelly, Imperial College London

Prof. Guillermo Luna-Jorquera, Universidad Católica del Norte

Prof. Jenna Jambeck, University of Georgia

Prof Karen, Stockin Massey University 

Prof Karen, Stockin Massey University 

Prof. Klaus Kümmerer Leuphana, Universität Lüneburg

Prof. Markus T. Lasut, Sam Ratulangi University

Prof. Manu Soto, University of the Basque Country Plentzia Marine Station

Prof. Michael Bentley, BSc PhD, Durham University, UK

Prof. Monica Ferreira da Costa, BSc, MPhil, PhD, Federal University of Pernambuco – UFPE

Prof. Peter Fantke, Technical University of Denmark

Prof. Richard Thompson, OBE FRS, University of Plymouth

Proff. Tanya King, Deakin University

Prof Victorine Pinas, Kuleuven

Prof. Walter Ruggeri Waldman, Federal University of São Carlos

R. Thomas Zoeller, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Rachel Doughty, Esq., Greenfire Law, PC

Radmila Novakovic, PhD, M.Sc University of Belgrade

Rakesh Vazirani, TUV Rheinland, Hong Kong

Raphaël Bajon Ifremer, LOPS

Raqueline Cristina Pereira Monteiro, R.C.P., Federal University of Pará

Raveena M. Tamoria, University of York

Rayane R S Abude, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Rebecca Altman, PhD

Rene Abesamis, PhD, Suakcrem

Renee Sharp, Insight Power Partners

Rev. Zahra Indigo Rønlov, Human

Richard Hugh Thompson, MA, Independent expert

Rico Euripidou, groundWork

Robert Ulric Lee, UNFAO

Rob Deaville, Institute of Zoology

Robert S. Guino-o II, PhD, Faculty Researcher

Rodrigo Ribeiro, Roraa

Roger Judson, NPS

Romilly Cumming, Massey University

Roxana Schteinbarg, Instituto de Conservacion de Ballenas

Sabine Pahl, PhD, University of Vienna

Sabine Springer

Sam Harrison, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Samarys Seguinot-Medina, DrPH, MSEM, Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT)

Sandra Steingraber, PhD, Science and Environmental Health Network

Sang Hee, Hong Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology

Sarah Dunlop, Minderoo Foundation

Sarah Hameed, PhD, Marine Conservation Institute

Saroja Kumar Barik, Department of Environment Forest and Climate change Bihar

Sarva Mangala Praveena, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Scott Coffin, Ph.D, California State Water Resources Control Board

Scott M Belcher, Ph.D, North Carolina State University

Sebastian Kahlert, ETH Zurich

Sergio López, Martínez Scientific Collection Centre, University of Almería – CECOUAL

Shahriar Hossain , Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO

Shanna Swan, PhD, ICahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Shantha Dalugamage , Stichting Mission Lanka

Silvia Galafassi, PhD, Water Research Center – National Research Council – Italy

Socorro E. Aguja, PhD, De La Salle Araneta University

Sonja Eisfeld-Pierantonio, Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Sophia Reichelt, Stockholm University

Stephanie Letessier, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Stephen Burrows, University of Exeter & The University of Queensland

Stephen Smith, PhD, Southern Cross University

Steve Allen, PhD, Dalhousie University

Susete Wambier Christo, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grosa

Sy Taffel, Massey University

Tadele Assefa Aragaw, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University

Tamara Maricic, Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia

Tanveer Adyel, PhD, Deakin University

Tatiane Benvenuti, UESC – BA/ BRazil

Tatiane Martins Garcia, Institute of Marine Sciences – Federal University of Ceará, Brazil

Tayo Sindiku, University of Ibadan

Terrence James Collins, Carnegie Mellon University

Tess DeSerisy, Sea Turtle Inc

Tierney Thys PhD, California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Explorer

Thais Mauad, Sao Paulo University 

Thomas Mani, The Ocean Cleanup

Timnit Kefela, MSc, UC Santa Barbara

Tista Prasai Joshi, PhD, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

Tom Gammage, Environmental Investigation Agency

Tomaso Fortibuoni, PhD, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale

Tommaso Giarrizzo, Ph.D, Institute of Marine Sciences (LABOMAR), Federal University of Ceará (UFC), Brazil

Tony R. Walker, MPhil, PhD, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada

Tosca Ballerini, Thalassa – marine research and science communication

Tracey Easthope, MPH Health Care Without Harm

Valerie Mitchell Hanley, Ph.D, California Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Toxic Substances Control

Vanessa Hatje , CienAm, universidade Federal da Bahia

Vanessa Rees

Vesna Aleksić, Institut ekinomskih nauka, Beograd

Vesna Teofilovic, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology, Department of materials engineering

Vickie L Boothe, 350 New Orleans

Victor Kwansa, KNUST

Victoria Fulfer, MS, University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography

Vinati Bhola, UNEP

Vital de Oliveira Ribeiro Filho

Viviane Coelho Buchianeri, USP

VM – MSc

Ursula Rojas-Nazar, NIWA

Wilma Milo Tejero, Ph.D, Silliman University, Philippines

Willis Mattison, Ph.D

Win Cowger, Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research

Winnie Courtene-Jones PhD, University of Plymouth

Won Joon Shim, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology

Yago Guida, PhD, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Yousra Ghezali PhD candidate , ENSSMAL


INSTITUTIONS

A Plastic Planet

Alaska Community Action On Toxics

Alliance For Zero Waste Indonesia

Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance

ASHIA International

Association For Promotion Sustainable Development

Asociación Nacional de Recicladores de Colombia

Ban SUP

Betterman Simidi Musasia

Bond Beter Leefmilieu

Centre For Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC)

Circular Economy Club Kuala Lumpur

Clean up Uganda 

Community Action Against Plastic Waste (CAPWS)

Community Action Against Plastic Wastes Rwanda

Conservation Alliance Int; Ghana

Cross River State Ministry Of Environment

Earthcare

Ecology Center

EDER (Environnement, Developpement Et Energies Renouvelables)

Energy And Environment Institute, University Of Hull

Environmental Organisation for the Preservation of Aquatic Ecosystem

Federal University of Pará, Brazil.

Fisheries And Ocean Governance Unit

FL Keys Environmental Coalition

Friends of the Earth – SPZ (Slovakia)

Fronteras Comunes

Fundación Bioelit

Génération Maastricht

Geosciences Institute

Green Heritage Fund

Habitat World

Haereticus Environmental Laboratory

Instituto Limpa Brasil

Kiwi Bottle Drive

Korea Marine Litter Institute

Makesense Philippines

Marine and environmental sciences centre

Massey University Political Ecology Research Centre

Moore Institute For Plastic Pollution Research

Moore Se

Naturepedic Organic Mattresses & Bedding

Nexus3 Foundation

New Zealand Product Stewardship Council

OceanCare

Oeko Bioplasticos

Our Blue Hands

Pan-African Micro(Nano)

Para Kore Marae Incorporated

Pelican Kenterra P Ltd

Plastic Punch

Plastic Soup Foundation

Plastic Soup Surfer

Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Chemistry (PIPAC)

Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation

Pi Academy

Polish Zero Waste Association

Projeto Hospital

Reachout Salone

Race for Water Foundation

Salonvironment

Save Our Shores

Science and Environmental Health Network

Seventh Generation

Silliman University

Sustainable Environment Development Initiative

Sucata Quântica

Sulubaai environmental foundation

The marine biological association

The Ocean Foundation

Toxisphera Associação de Saúde Ambiental

Uergs

UNISC International

Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji

University of Algarve

University of Tasmania

Verein Plastic Planet Austria

WasteAid UK

Youth Initiative For The Promotion Of Good Leadership In Nigeria

Zero Waste Academy

Zero Waste Alliance Ireland


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