Dr Susann Power, Ulster University Business School, Ulster University, Prof Justin Magee, Arts and Design, Ulster University, & Dr Bronagh Millar, Engineering and Material Processing, Queen’s University Belfast.
This presentation shares key findings of a transdisciplinary academic research project entitled Beach Clean 2.0, which tackles the persistent land-water-edge environmental issue of marine plastic pollution, a complex obstacle to oceanic health and societal well-being. Relevant to Assembly deliberations on the forthcoming Fisheries and Water Environment Bill, the transdisciplinary project combines and builds upon three existing academic research projects that addressed community beach cleaning (2021), waste valorisation through co-design (2024) and polymer processing material science (2024), to provide a conduit for improving the aquatic environment through a circular marine waste ecosystem design and enabling the conversion of 36%-75% of beach plastics from objects of waste to items of use.
The presentation explains how materials harvested through Beach Clean 2.0 may be transformed into items of use – for example, 3D print filament and feedstock for the polymer processing supply chain. Moreover, the project’s methodology is scalable to include fishing gear waste and thus provides a significant model for improving land-water-edge environments. It further highlights the trialling and valorisation of this circular plastics method, involving 145 beach clean volunteers and 211.8kg of beach litter, and now the implementation phase using a multiple-stakeholder approach, which aims to deliver a blueprint piloted in a Northern Ireland council area, policy recommendations for improvement of the aquatic and coastal environments, an open access methodology, a plastics valorisation readiness and commercialisation plan, as well as environmental education teaching materials in relation to ocean plastics.
More specifically, in relation to the forthcoming Bill’s underlying policy objectives, the presentation shows how: Beach Clean 2.0 supports waste management of commercial fishing and recreational angling, for both in-land and sea environments; this green transition methodology activates multi-stakeholder partnerships to improve land-water-edge environments and encourage infrastructure investments; and, its land-water-edge area improvements impact positively on business and tourism in rural/coastal areas that rely on clean environments, helping to address rural community needs.
This transdisciplinary research project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) Green Transition Ecosystems Programme (funder reference AH/Y003780/1). Its findings were first presented at the 2025 Irish Environmental Research Colloquium (also available through Open Access Research Impact Cards).
This seminar took place on 27 May 2026.
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Briefing Paper
Presentation