Seminar: 'Time to kick some butt! Environmental impacts of smoking-related litter'

Wednesday 7 June 2023 - Wednesday 7 June 2023

Location: Plymouth Marine Laboratory or Microsoft Teams

Speaker: Dr Dannielle Green, Anglia Ruskin University
Wednesday 7th June 12pm - 1pm
 
Title: Time to kick some butt! Environmental impacts of smoking-related litter
 
Bio: Dr Dannielle Green is an Associate Professor and director of the Applied Ecology Research Group at Anglia Ruskin University. She completed her Honours degree in Marine Science at the University of Sydney before moving to University College Dublin, Ireland to do a PhD on invasive marine species. For the past 10 years, she has been researching the impacts and solutions to plastic pollution in a range of different habitats from the land to the sea. She is a scientific advisor helping UK and EU policymakers, businesses and industry to reduce their impacts on the environment and she co-authored the 2021 United Nations Environment Programme report on plastic pollution helping to guide global policy. She is passionate about science communication and is a regular guest on BBC radio, The Naked Scientists podcast as well as participating in public outreach events.
 
Abstract: Almost 6 trillion cigarettes (with a single-use plastic filter) are smoked globally each year and two-thirds are littered, making cigarette butts (CBs) one of the most common litter items worldwide. Indeed, there has been a 1000% increase in annual CB litter on UK beaches over the past 25 years and, collectively, the clean-up costs the UK ~£40 million each year. Despite their 30+ year reign as a top litter item, there is a dearth of research on their environmental impacts. Recently, e-cigarettes (or ‘vapes’) have gained popularity as an alternative to tobacco-based cigarettes and the increased availability of disposable e-cigarettes has resulted in a rise in their littering. This presents a complex form of e-waste in the environment, the impacts of which are largely unknown. This talk will explore evidence of environmental impact from smoking related litter (including novel threat posed by single-use disposable e-cigarettes) in marine, freshwater and terrestrial settings and will identify some key knowledge gaps and potential solutions to these global issues.

This seminar will be held online and is open to Marine Research Plymouth Colleagues, to register, please email comms@pml.ac.uk