IT has become one of the biggest pollution stories of our times, and now a team of Scottish researchers are to lead an international research project to assess the impact of plastic on the world’s oceans.

Stirling University has been awarded a share of £850,000 to lead a study that aims to inspire international action on marine plastic pollution.

Entitled The Economics of Marine Plastic Pollution: What are the Benefits of International Cooperation?, the project will calculate the economic costs of the environmental damage associated with marine plastic and study the benefits of an internationally coordinated clean-up.

The three-year study, which involves researchers from the universities of Stirling and Glasgow, plus Plymouth Marine Laboratory in England and Clark University in Massachusetts in the US, will focus on collecting data from eight countries bordering the North Atlantic Ocean.

The research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Natural Environment Research Council.

Professor of Environmental Economics at the university’s Stirling Management School, Frans de Vries, said: “Despite increasing worldwide recognition of the problem of marine plastic, a lack

of co-ordinated and effective control persists

“We know plastic pollution is a global phenomenon and has a significant, detrimental impact on the marine and coastal environment. The transboundary nature of marine plastic pollution reduces the incentive for any single country to take action.

“Through this project, we aim to identify and prove the value of international co-operation in tackling the issue.”