8 Plastics and Turtles

Read the full report here: BIOT plastics and turtles project_July 2019 Expedition Report_BIOT

This Darwin Plus-funded project started on 1st April 2019 and aims to reduce the negative impacts of plastic waste in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), with a focus on sea turtles, globally impacted by plastics. It will undertake a systematic analysis of how plastic arrives in BIOT, and how it is used and managed. This information will enable targeted beach cleans that benefit nesting green and hawksbill turtles, combined with a systems change approach to reduce single-use-plastic on Diego Garcia through alternative solutions based on reduction, reuse and recycling.

The project has three objectives:

1. Reduce the negative impacts of plastics on turtles in BIOT

2. Reduce the use of single-use plastic (SUP) on Diego Garcia (DG)

3. Provide alternatives options for reuse or recycling of plastic waste streams