Addressing the plastic crisis is our mission:

We use plastic in almost every area of our lives – as packaging, in electronics, clothing and building materials. Plastic is inexpensive and easy to make. It’s unmatched in its cost-effective durability and resistance to degradation.

But this attractive durability has created a global plastic crisis. Some plastics take more than 400 years to break down, and around 11 million metric tons of plastic ends up in our oceans every year. Half of all plastic becomes waste within a year of being made, yet most isn’t recycled. Our planet is suffocating in plastic. We need radical action to halt this trend and limit the damaging consequences of plastic pollution on our health and the environment.

We’ve got to find solutions to the world’s plastic problem. That’s where Revolution Plastics comes in.

Our ambition: We’re assembling teams of scientists, business-leaders, campaigners and citizens who share our ambition to transform the way we make, use and dispose of this polluting material. Revolution Plastics is led by Professor Steve Fletcher and Dr Cressida Bowyer. Our mission is guided by the expertise of our Advisory Council, composed of senior executives from organisations and sectors that play a role in plastics and sustainability.

We’ve signed up to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. We’re a member of their Network and the University of Portsmouth is profiled in their Higher Education Network of Universities. We were also invited to join the UN Global Partnership on Marine Litter.

Our revolution will ensure the elimination of damaging environmental and health impacts arising from plastics, through:

– Innovative technology that transforms methods of plastic production, use and disposal.

– An inclusive new plastics economy based on circular principles.

– Informed citizens so people make better choices about using and disposing of plastic.

– New governance approaches that incentivise sustainable plastic production, use and disposal.

– Partnerships with industry and policy makers to inspire sustainability initiatives and action