European survey aims to gauge perceptions of marine litter

The survey, being conducted by Plymouth University, will assess how people’s attitudes towards the impacts and the potential solutions to this growing environmental problem vary between countries and between those who manufacture, sell, use or dispose of the numerous items which can become marine litter. It is being led by Richard Thompson, from the Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, and Sabine Pahl and Bonny Hartley from the University’s School of Psychology. Thompson said: “We know marine litter harms a wide range of marine life including commercially important species, many of which are critically endangered. This debris presents a hazard to mariners and is exceptionally costly to clean up. Yet many of the items we commonly find as marine debris, such as packaging, have no reason to accumulate in the sea. This survey provides an exciting opportunity to help understand the underlying causes and identify potential solutions to this major environmental problem. Marine litter refers to persistent, manufactured or processed solid materials that are discarded, disposed of, or abandoned on the coast and in the sea.