Local community beach cleans could be more effective than high tech - but often unproven - removal technologies at limiting ocean plastic’s harm, according to the scientist who coined the term microplastics.

Richard Thompson, professor of marine biology and head of the international marine litter research unit at the University of Plymouth, UK, has been studying plastic pollution for 20 years and on 2 May 2024 featured in TIME magazine’s inaugural TIME100 Health list.

His new report into removing plastics from oceans was published to coincide with the latest round of United Nations plastics treaty negotiations, in Canada, in April 2024.

The single most important factor identified is preventing plastic waste entering the environment in the first place. However, the study concludes plastic removal will be beneficial as environmental plastic concentrations are expected to triple by 2060 under business-as-usual scenarios.

It recommends that priority areas for clean-up be identified according to where plastic poses the greatest threats to ecosystems or human wellbeing, not just where concentrations are highest.

Thompson said, “Although clean-up is not the solution to the plastic problem, there are circumstances where it may be beneficial, both to protect ecosystems and limit any potential harm to human health.

“It is essential that any technologies designed to remove plastic pollution from the environment are properly evaluated before they are deployed to ensure they are effective and there are no unintended environmental impacts.

"However, the focus must remain on prevention, rather than symptom management, as a solution to plastic pollution.”

Alongside technologies designed to remove plastic from the environment, the report looked at techniques - such as modelling and drones - that could be used to identify plastic pollution ‘hotspots’ to help prioritise areas for clean-up.

Thompson’s first publication exploring the field of marine litter was published in 2004, with a landmark paper in which he was the first researcher to use the term "microplastics".

By appearing on the TIME100 Health list, he has been recognised as one of the 100 most influential individuals leading global change in health. Thompson is named as a ‘microplastic revolutionary’ in the ‘catalyst’ category.

He says, “It is incredibly humbling to be included on this list, and to be named among people whose work is having a profound influence on global health.

"In recent years, we have become increasingly aware of the many challenges threatening the health of our planet and everything living on it. Plastic pollution is unquestionably among them, and our work over more than two decades has demonstrated the scale of the issue, and the potential harm it can cause.

"The current negotiations towards a global plastics treaty are critical in addressing that, and they represent a generational opportunity to deliver a worldwide consensus that results in meaningful action."

Thompson's current projects include work to explore the impact of tyre particle pollution, and the performance of plastic alternatives, as well as assessments of the effects of microplastics on both humans and wildlife.

This work has directly influenced global policies, including the UK ban on microbeads in cosmetics. In 2017 he was made an OBE in 2017 for his services to marine science among various other accolades, including the 2023 Blue Planet Prize.