Pioneering microplastics researcher receives the 2023 Blue Planet Prize

A University of Plymouth academic has been awarded a prestigious global prize for his pioneering research into global plastic pollution.

Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, who led the first ever study highlighting the presence of microplastics in the ocean, has been named a recipient of the 2023 Blue Planet Prize.

The award, sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation, is presented to individuals or organisations who have made significant contributions to the resolution of global environmental problems.

It acknowledges the world-leading research Professor Thompson and colleagues have conducted over the past 25 years, as well as his ongoing influence at a national and international level.

Professor Thompson, who leads the University’s International Marine Litter Research Unit and is Director of the Marine Institute, said:

“I am deeply honoured to be selected as a recipient of the 2023 Blue Planet Prize. The award further recognises the global environmental challenge of plastic pollution and the work done by my team at the University of Plymouth, collaborators locally and colleagues across the world, to help evidence the issue.

“Around 25 years ago I became curious to discover the smallest items of plastic in our ocean. Working with students we found pieces smaller than grains of beach sand, showed their abundance had increased over decades and that these fragments – which I described as microplastics – were readily eaten by marine life. As awareness of the problem has increased, my focus has turned to identifying and evaluating the solutions needed to solve this global environmental crisis and that remains one of the biggest challenges that both scientists and society face today.”

In 2004, Professor Thompson published a seminal piece of research in the journal Science in which he coined the term microplastics to describe the microscopic plastic fragments found in our oceans.

Since then, he has been involved in key discoveries demonstrating the global distribution of microplastics – from shorelines to the deep ocean and even the highest slopes of Mount Everest – and the potential for microplastics to transport chemicals to marine life.

He has also examined the use of technology – including washing machine filters and other mechanical devices – to both prevent the flow of plastics into the ocean and to clear the waters of what is there already.

He directly influenced the United Nations Treaty on Plastic Pollution, signed by 175 world leaders in March 2022, and has contributed to UK legislation on single-use carrier bags and the use of microbeads in cosmetics.

Professor Thompson has jointly been awarded the prize with Professor Tamara Galloway OBE, from the University of Exeter, and Professor Penelope Lindeque from Plymouth Marine Laboratory.

They have been collaborating on various initiatives since 2007, and this is the second time in a year that their ongoing collaboration has been recognised through an international accolade, after they received the Volvo Environment Prize 2022.

They also collectively won both the Societal Impact category and overall prize in the Natural Environment Research Council’s 2018 Impact Awards.