A new paper advocates for a radical shift in how science engages with diverse communities to address the escalating plastic pollution crisis. The authors argue that communities should be seen as equal partners in co-creating research, knowledge, and actions needed to drive change, rather than passive recipients of scientific knowledge.
Developed through an interdisciplinary workshop at the National Oceanography Centre, the research urges a move away from top-down approaches that treat communities as “empty vessels” to be filled with facts or told what to do. Instead, it advocates for long-term, reciprocal engagement that centres lived experience, local expertise, and social justice.
“Communities are not ‘out there’ waiting to be engaged,” Dr Alice Horton from the National Oceanography Centre, says. “They are dynamic, diverse, and already playing critical roles in shaping how we understand and respond to ocean plastics.”
Despite decades of warnings from scientists, plastic waste entering the ocean continues to rise. Estimates suggest that by 2040, up to 29 million tonnes of plastic could enter the seas each year – more than double the 2010 figure.
Using international case studies, the research identifies four key types of community – geographical, practical, virtual, and circumstantial – and proposes new “rules of engagement” for how scientists can work with them. These include co-designing research, validating local knowledge, and recognising different cultural relationships with the ocean and with plastic.
From puppet shows and participatory art to citizen science and indigenous knowledge, the study highlights the diverse ways communities are already engaging with plastic pollution on their own terms – often more effectively than institutional methods.
Dr Cressida Bowyer, deputy director of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth and co-author of the paper, says: “Community members bring valuable insight and agency to this issue. We’ve seen examples from Kenya to the Philippines where local actions, often overlooked by formal science, are leading the way.”
A powerful example comes from Kenya, where researchers from the University of Portsmouth worked with 12 waste pickers to co-create a piece of legislative theatre. The play drew on the lived experiences of waste pickers, exploring issues like exclusion from policymaking, systemic discrimination, and job insecurity.
Performed for audiences including the public, the recycling industry, and policymakers attending the UN plastics treaty talks, the play gave waste pickers a platform to advocate for inclusion and recognition. For many, leading their own event was an empowering shift – from being subjects of policy to shaping it.
This collaborative approach contrasts with more traditional methods, where science is simply communicated to people. The researchers argue that such methods are inadequate for today’s complex environmental challenges.
“In many contexts, especially in under-resourced areas, lack of formal education does not mean lack of knowledge,” Professor Lesley Henderson, University of Strathclyde, emphasises. “Scientists must be careful not to conflate the two.”
The release of the paper comes just months before the continuation of international negotiations on a global plastics treaty in Geneva (August 2025), where 175 countries are expected to debate how to regulate the full life cycle of plastics – from production to disposal.
Concerns that these talks have so far marginalised indigenous voices and non-Western knowledge systems have already been voiced. The researchers warn that unless this imbalance is corrected, the treaty risks repeating the same exclusionary patterns that have hampered other global environmental efforts.
The authors argue that for scientific research to be effective in addressing plastic pollution, it must be embedded in society – not removed from it.
