Royal Holloway, in partnership with SC Johnson, has launched Ocean Plastics: Research and Action, a new exhibition that explores how plastic pollution travels from everyday life into rivers and oceans, and how research can help drive practical solutions.
Opening to visitors from 23 June, the exhibition brings together university research, real-world examples and accessible interpretation to help students, schools, local communities and the wider public better understand the journey of plastic pollution.
It shows how plastic can move through waste systems, waterways and the environment, eventually breaking into microplastics and nanoplastics that are harder to see, track and remove.
Included in the exhibition is research from Royal Holloway, where visitors will be able to explore how different plastics degrade over time, such as how synthetic clothing can shed fibres through washing, and how researchers are studying microplastics in local rivers connected to wider water systems.
Alongside SC Johnson, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of household cleaning products such as Duck®, Mr Muscle® and Ecover®, the exhibition is designed to translate academic research into an accessible public learning experience for students, schools, local communities and visitors.
It brings a global issue closer to home by showing how plastic is present through everyday systems, local waterways and the wider environment. It also shows how ocean plastic pollution does not begin in the ocean, but starts in the systems, products and choices around us every day; long before plastic reaches the sea.
Dr Nathalie Grassineau, from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, said: “Ocean plastic pollution is a global challenge, but it is also something we can study, understand and act on.
"Through Ocean Plastics: Research and Action, we want to bring research into a public space and help visitors see how plastics move through everyday life, rivers and oceans.
“By making the science accessible, we hope the exhibition supports better understanding and encourages students, schools and the wider public to think about the role they can play in reducing plastic waste."
The exhibition also shows there is no single solution to ocean plastic pollution. Reducing it will depend on better systems, stronger policy, continued research, responsible innovation and informed everyday choices.
SC Johnson is part of Ocean Plastics: Research and Action for its wider commitment to sustainability education and partnership-driven efforts to address plastic waste.
Through this work, the company helps create public learning experiences that make the issue more visible and easier to understand.
SC Johnson has significantly advanced its packaging goals and continues to focus on reducing its virgin plastic footprint and plastics that are difficult to recycle, incorporating post-consumer recycled materials and recovered coastal plastic into its packaging, and supporting reuse and refill systems.
Today, 25% of SC Johnson’s global packaging comes from post-consumer recycled plastic, and 64% of its plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable. Additionally, the company has reduced its use of virgin plastic by 33% since 2018.
Ocean Plastics: Research and Action will be open at Royal Holloway, from 23 June 2026. Further visitor information, including opening times and access details.
