A groundbreaking environmental initiative, which sets out to develop a global plastics protocol across the UK and beyond has secured £500,000 (€658,200) in funding from players of People's Postcode Lottery.
‘New Plastics Economy – Mobilisation' is a joint project between the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Plymouth Marine Laboratory and was one of three winners of this year's People's Postcode Lottery Dream Fund.
The idea behind the project is to develop a protocol that will become an industry standard for producing sustainable plastics across worldwide. The project will also engage the scientific community to look at a co-ordinated programme of collaborative research and competitions.
This initiative follows a recent study by the World Economic Forum/Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which estimated that by 2050, without significant action our oceans will contain more plastic than fish, by weight.
Dame Ellen MacArthur, said: “The New Plastics Economy report gives an extensive overview of today's plastics economy and its challenges, but perhaps more importantly provides the vision for a new system in which plastics never become waste. We are delighted that, thanks to the Dream Fund, we are able to count on the support of players of People's Postcode Lottery, which will enable us to bring together the capabilities we need to turn this vision into a reality.”
The award announcement was made at People's Postcode Lottery's annual Charity Gala, held in Edinburgh's Assembly Rooms last week. A total of £5.1m (€6.7m) was awarded to charities and good causes across the course of the evening.