Health & Beauty
28 November 2025
The Women’s Institute, on behalf of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Microplastics, working in partnership with the Global Plastics Policy Centre at the University of Portsmouth, has launched a comprehensive call for evidence to inform a new report on microplastic pollution in the UK.
The inquiry will provide an authoritative, up-to-date picture of the sources and risks posed by microplastics and set out practical, systemic recommendations for government action.
Five years on from the APPG’s first report, research has evolved rapidly and public concern has continued to grow.
Microplastic pollution is now recognised as an urgent and escalating challenge affecting human health, nature and the wider economy.
The Group’s new inquiry aims to capture the latest scientific understanding and policy thinking, ensuring recommendations are grounded in robust, evidence-based research.
‘Every day we hear about new areas of the human body and in nature where microplastic pollution is reaching and hearing increasingly concerning reports of serious health risks. Still, successive governments have only taken incremental steps in addressing this risk to health, economy and nature.
‘This inquiry is an opportunity for experts, decision-makers, businesses and civil society to help shape the UK’s next steps. We want to hear from anyone with insights on the scale of the problem, the gaps in our knowledge, and the solutions needed to protect people and our planet.’
EMMA HOLLAND-LINDSAY
APPG on Microplastics Group’s secretariat, Director of Campaigns and Membership at the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI)
The inquiry is open to contributions from academia, industry, civil society and advocacy groups.
Written submissions are invited on issues including major sources of microplastics, impacts on health and the environment, economic and agricultural implications and proposals for policy or legislative action.
The Group is also seeking views on systemic approaches, such as circular economy models and extended producer responsibility, and how tackling microplastic pollution could be embedded in these more effectively within existing and upcoming UK policy frameworks.
The Global Plastics Policy Centre at the University of Portsmouth, will support evidence analysis, policy evaluation, report writing and stakeholder engagement.
‘Microplastics are now found in almost every ecosystem on earth, yet there remain critical gaps in monitoring, risk assessment and policy intervention. Current policy to address microplastics is insufficient to address the scale of the problem.
‘This call for evidence and policy design analysis that follows is an important step towards closing those gaps. Drawing on the expertise and lived experience of stakeholders across the country, we can help Parliament develop solutions that are both practical and systemic.’
DR ANTAYA MARCH
Director of the Global Plastics Policy Centre, Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth
The APPG’s final report will be published in Spring 2026 and will set out developments in microplastic research and policy since 2021, along with a series of evidence-based recommendations, to government.
The report aims to support the development of cohesive national action, highlighting effective points of intervention, identifying opportunities for legislative change and outlining a clear route towards reducing microplastic pollution at scale.
The APPG encourages contributions from all sectors and disciplines. Written submissions should address any of the inquiry’s core questions, specific to the UK.
These include the sources, scale and proportions of key sources of microplastics pollution; risks to human health; economic, agricultural and food security impacts; risks to nature and wildlife; existing gaps in science and monitoring of microplastics pollution; ideas for UK legislation or policy to tackle microplastic pollution in an effective way.
The inquiry will be led by the APPG’s secretariat, the Women’s Institute, in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth’s Global Plastics Policy Centre, and will be open until 15 February.
Click here for more information on how to submit evidence.
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