Just One Ocean

We gave a £5000 grant to The Big Microplastic Survey in Quarter 1 of 2019, a project investigating the problem of microplastics and mesoplastic in rivers, lakes and coastal regions.

Microplastics are one of the most critical problems facing our oceans.

Run by UK charity, Just One Ocean, in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth, The Big Microplastic Survey is a global citizen science project where volunteers take samples to provide information about the extent and location of microplastics around the world.

David Honcoop, Managing Director at Clarity Environmental, explained why our committee chose to donate to this project:

“Whilst microplastics are unseen, they are everywhere around us. It is an alarming issue and yet we don’t fully understand the scale of the problem or how it is impacting on marine wildlife and human health. I am delighted that we can support this project to help it progress into the next phase. The development of a database will provide vital information for scientists and decision makers.”

Since it started, The Big Microplastic Survey project has had a huge response, both from individuals who want to be involved in helping to resolve the microplastic issue, as well as academic institutions and government departments. With 45 countries reached thus far, data is being gathered that will help to understand the microplastics problem around the world.

Our grant will help the project to achieve its goal; the development of a collective, self-sustaining and openly accessible source of microplastic data for scientists and researchers, governments and nongovernment organisations.