The Ocean Plastics Recovery Project (OPR) is working to better understand the relationship between ocean plastics pollution and its effects on keystone species and ecosystems. More specifically, in collaboration with a diverse group of research scientists and subject matter experts, OPR endeavors to determine if ocean plastics are negatively impacting the ability of natural ecosystems to provide carbon capture and sequestration services to the planet.

The goal of this project is to determine the sources of micro and nano plastics and their direct and indirect impacts on ecosystems and keystone species. We aim to build on existing knowledge of the sources and impacts of micro and nano plastics, and to trace their movement and potentially harmful side-effects to identify vulnerabilities and potential points of disruption to carbon capture and sequestration services.