Words by Natalie Fox – eXXpedition ambassador 

Marine plastic pollution was my ocean conservation entry point – and perhaps it is for many.

When I started surfing over twenty years ago, finding plastic on the beach made just as much of an impression on me as my first waves. I began with simple and easy actions; picking it up, joining beach cleans and later becoming involved with Surfers Against Sewage as the organisation expanded its focus from sewage to plastic pollution.

It was an exercise in getting organised and diving into environmental volunteering but it also revealed a hard truth: no matter how many beach cleans, the plastic kept washing up.

Seeing the System, Not Just the Symptom

In 2018, I joined the first leg of eXXpedition Round the World, sailing across the North Atlantic to support scientific research on marine microplastics (partnered with University of Plymouth). I wanted to learn why so much plastic kept washing up on land and try to understand the scale of the problem. With that information, I thought I’d be in a better position to help reduce marine plastic pollution.

As a citizen scientist, I helped collect manta trawl samples in the North Atlantic. It was far from land and obvious sources of waste. These were places you would not expect to find human debris, yet plastic was evident in every sample we took. 

Much of it was not visible from deck. These were Microplastics, fragments smaller than 5 mm, formed when larger plastic items break apart through use, weathering and exposure to sunlight. Unlike organic materials, most plastics do not biologically decompose; they persist, fragmenting into ever smaller and smaller pieces that spread through the ocean.

Seen from this perspective, plastic pollution is less about littering and more about systems. Through a policy lens, the presence of microplastics, even in remote waters, reflects decades of regulatory choices that prioritised the extraction of fossil resources and the large-scale production of short-lived plastic goods, while placing limited responsibility on producers for what happens to those materials after use.

The eXXpedition model builds on a landmark 2015 study by Jenna Jambeck and colleagues, which estimated that 8 million metric tonnes of plastic waste enter the ocean every year. Since then global plastic production has increased, and with it the volume of waste entering marine environments. 

A core feature of eXXpedition’s approach is the involvement of citizen scientists. By engaging people directly in data collection, the programme helps move knowledge beyond laboratories and academic journals, making the evidence more accessible to the public and decision-makers alike.

eXXpedition’s work also follows a “source, sea, and sink” framework, tracking plastics from where they are produced and mismanaged on land, through ocean transport pathways, to where they ultimately accumulate: on beaches, in the deep sea, and in living organisms. The full lifecycle of plastic makes one thing clear: if we only focus on clean-up, we will never solve the problem, because plastic is still, ultimately being produced at an increasing rate.

No Community Is Isolated

Research conducted during eXXpedition voyages also revealed that plastic pollution patterns vary widely by region. These patterns are shaped by waste management systems, ocean currents and policy decisions. 

In parts of the Caribbean Sea, high microplastic concentrations were linked to both distant sources and local run-off from regions with high levels of mismanaged waste — estimated at around 44% in Panama at the time. In contrast, areas such as Antigua, Bonaire and Colombia showed lower plastic concentrations, but with important distinctions. Antigua, for example, exhibited a high diversity of plastic polymers, suggesting that much of the pollution had travelled long distances via North Atlantic currents, potentially even far beyond the Caribbean, from the North Atlantic Garbage Patch.

The implication is straightforward – plastic pollution does not respect borders. Local efforts matter but they cannot fully shield communities from decisions made elsewhere. 

The Power of Citizen and Community Science

One of the more constructive responses to this problem has been the growth of citizen and community science. Seven years after my own eXXpedition experience, a newly published paper (which I coauthored) documents how these programs generate valuable datasets while also engaging people in scientific practice, stewardship and advocacy. 

Led by Peter Puskic from The Ocean Clean Up, the paper highlights the role of what it describes as “highly engaged marine users”:  surfers, paddleboarders, kayakers, divers and seafarers who are of particular importance in marine microplastic monitoring. These communities have deep, place-based knowledge of the ocean and access to environments that are otherwise difficult for scientists to monitor such as the nearshore zone, the seafloor and the open ocean.   

When projects are properly designed and supported by scientists, citizen science can meaningfully contribute to global monitoring efforts. Beyond data collection, it can build ocean literacy, strengthen community ownership and turn lived experience into evidence that it is harder for policymakers to dismiss.

This was my own journey: beginning with a connection to the ocean through surfing, to clean-ups, to citizen science, to understanding the systems driving plastic pollution. But understanding alone does not create change.

Why Policy Must Catch Up

Today, more than 460 million metric tonnes of plastic are produced each year, around half of it designed for single use. Less than 10% is recycled. Plastic pollution is also a climate issue, with plastics derived largely from fossil fuels and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions across their lifecycle.

The proposed Global Plastics Treaty was intended to address these issues through a legally binding agreement tackling plastic across its full lifecycle, from production and design to waste management and remediation. Yet despite unprecedented scientific evidence and public support, negotiations stalled in August 2025, without a final agreement. 

On 7 February 2026, governments reconvened in Geneva for the third part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.3). While the session was limited to organisational matters and did not include substantive negotiations, it did result in the election of new leadership: Ambassador Julio Cordano of Chile was appointed as INC Chair, with Mr Linroy Christian of Antigua and Barbuda elected as Vice-Chair.

Leadership changes may help create momentum, but they also highlight how fragile and contested the process remains.

So what are the next steps in moving from shared concern to binding global action?

Experts highlight several ways a Global Plastics Treaty could move forward despite stalled negotiations. One approach, the Ottawa Process, allows a smaller group of willing countries to pursue ambitious measures even when full UN consensus is not possible. Another is referral to the UN General Assembly, where a vote could overcome deadlocks. Regional agreements have historically driven strong environmental action, while national legislation and market influence in major economies, such as the European Union, can establish global standards through supply chains.

As Maria Ivanova, Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University observes, “ Change will not come from one treaty or one technology alone. It will come from many places, many people, and many choices. What we need now is the courage to imagine and implement alternatives.”

From Fragmented Efforts to System Change

Marine plastic pollution has shown me that no single approach is sufficient. Clean-ups cannot keep pace with production. Science without policy doesn’t have sufficient leverage. Policy without public pressure often stalls and community action without systemic change risks burnout. Add in climate change triggering unprecedented weather, ocean currents and more frequent storms churning up marine debris, and the issue becomes even more complex. 

Addressing plastic pollution will require citizen science, community engagement and global policy working together, from the shoreline to the Gyres to the negotiating table. Because the ocean does not need fragmented efforts, it needs aligned, courageous, collective action. The plastic will keep coming, unless we change the system that creates it.

Demand a Strong Global Plastics Treaty by signing the petition:

https://only.one/act/plasticstreaty 

To explore the global scale of the plastics crisis and how science tracks it at sea, watch X Trillion, filmed onboard eXXpedition:
👉 Watch the film here

Further reading:

What now for the global plastics treaty? Maria Ivanova in Nature

Drowning in Plastics Report: Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics by UNEP

Nature editorial: Trust and science: the essential elements missing from plastics treaty talks

Rejecting a Weak Plastics Treaty, Countries Open the Door to Stronger Climate Ambition