A multi-disciplinary approach to the problem of marine plastic pollution in Norway is essential for developing a comprehensive overview of plastic generation, release to the environment, transport, and environmental impacts. Our project, MAPLE, will integrate geoscientific, hydrodynamic, biological, and life-cycle analyses to the problem of marine plastic pollution in Trondheimsfjord and the outer central coast of Norway to evaluate environmental impacts.

Comprehensive overviews elucidating the interaction of pollutants with the marine environment are critical for the development of effective strategies for regulation and mitigation, including reaching many of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Even though only one SDG (14 – life below water) explicitly mentions plastic pollution, 12 out of 17 SDGs are put at risk by plastic pollution and there is still a lack of understanding of its various causes and consequences.

MAPLE will combine hydrodynamic modelling (to calculate the transport pathways and predict accumulation hot spots) with surveys of plastics in the water column and on the seabed (to chart existing concentrations and determine sources), biological testing (to assess impacts on the marine environment), and life cycle analyses (to correlate the economic value chain to the generation of plastic pollution).