Plastics in the Environment
Plastics in the Environment is a special interest group that was established in April 2017 and consists of diverse scientific experts from across the University with wide-ranging interests in plastics in the environment and related issues.
Group updates
May 2020: SIG members Judy Lee, Rosalind Malcolm and Kayleigh Wyles took part on a Q&A panel following a showing of the documentary: ‘The Story of Plastic’ (2020, Discovery network).
May 2020: Call for papers - guest editor on a Special Issue on Microplastics.
October 2019: Are global food packaging brands really committed to ditching single-use plastic? Academics at the University of Surrey investigate bold new food packaging pledges made by some of the world’s most prominent brands – and question whether these pledges will translate into measurable actions.
November 2018: A new report by Friends of the Earth has revealed that as much as 19,000 tonnes of microplastic pollution could be entering UK waterways every year from vehicle tyres.
August 2018: Study finds only one third of UK’s plastic food packaging is recyclable. The Local Government Association (LGA) has completed recent analysis which indicates that two-thirds of all plastic food container waste is still being incinerated or thrown into landfill.
June 2018: Science Minister announces £20m Plastics Research and Innovation Fund to be managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The new fund aims to explore new ideas and innovations that can encourage changes in the UK's plastics manufacturing and consumption patterns.
January 2018: All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the prevention of plastic waste established 'to raise issues relating to the impact of plastic waste on our environment and to provide a cross-party forum to work towards the minimisation of plastic waste’.
Meet the team
Head of group
Professor Richard Murphy
Emeritus Professor of Life Cycle Assessment
Members
Professor Claudio Avignone Rossa
Professor of Systems Microbiology
Dr Thomas Bond
Senior Lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr Monica Felipe-Sotelo
Lecturer in Radiation and Analytical Chemistry
Dr Colin Hare
Visiting Senior Lecturer of Chemical Engineering
Dr Suzie Hingley-Wilson
Lecturer in Bacteriology
Professor Joseph Keddie
Professor of Soft Matter Physics and Royal Society Industry Fellow
Professor Judy Lee
Professor in Chemical and Process Engineering
Professor Rosalind Malcolm
Professor of Law, Director of Environmental Regulatory Research Group (ERRG)
Professor Noreen O'Meara
Senior Associate, Centre for Britain and Europe (CBE). Affiliated Researcher, Surrey Centre for International and Environmental Law; Surrey Centre for Law and Philosophy, Surrey Law School.
Dr Ruth Rawcliffe
Research fellow
Dr Peter Roth
Senior Lecturer in Applied Organic/Polymer Chemistry and School Postgraduate Research Director