UK Lags as Microplastics Invade Food and Ecosystems
The UK government must urgently draw up a comprehensive national strategy to tackle microplastic pollution or risk falling further behind international efforts to address one of the most pervasive environmental threats of our time, researchers have warned.
A new policy brief, delivered to MPs today (6th May 2025) by the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre , outlines the growing scale of the crisis and calls for a coordinated UK roadmap with clear targets and timelines. Developed in collaboration with leading UK microplastics scientists from 7 UK Universities, the brief highlights regulatory gaps and missed opportunities in government policy, despite mounting evidence of harm to human health, ecosystems and the economy.
The policy brief also warns that without immediate intervention, the UK risks falling further behind global leaders such as the EU and US, which are already introducing enforceable targets and limits on microplastics in water and industrial processes.
Despite mounting global evidence linking microplastics to environmental degradation and human health risks, the UK remains without a comprehensive approach.
https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/researchers-warn-the-uk-is-falling-behind-international-efforts-as-microplastics-infiltrate-food-bodies-and-ecosystems