UGA researchers lead scientific effort in eXXpedition’s global study tracking plastic pollution from sea to source

Kat Gilmore on April 27, 2026

Aerial view of people on a sailboat during an eXXpedition, deploying scientific equipment into the ocean using cables. — Trawling for plastic during an eXXpedition voyage. Copyright Eleanor Church Lark Rise Pictures

An all-women sailing crew led by eXXpedition is undertaking a global study to map ocean plastic pollution to its sources on land. Their research—to be collected by 10 crews over 10 legs in 5 ocean basins, through 2027— will be guided by the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) developed by Jenna Jambeck, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia, and by scientists in Jambeck’s Circularity Informatics Lab (CIL), which is serving as the Science & Research Lead for the upcoming voyages. The methods will include investigations into microplastics in surface ocean waters, litter along the coast and on land, products and waste management available in communities, and the connections between these areas that can help inform pollution prevention.

The first leg left Auckland, New Zealand, for the Bay of Islands with Taylor Maddalene Myers, PhD, director of the CAP methodology that will be utilized for the study, on board.

“This type of multi-dimensional research is critical for understanding sources, pathways, and sinks of plastic pollution. We know that plastic is everywhere—from the air above Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench—and the hope is that the data collected through eXXpedition can inform a range of interventions at the local level to optimize circularity and reduce plastic leakage into the environment in the first place,” said Maddalene Myers before she left for the voyage.

A woman stands indoors beside clear drawers filled with sorted colored materials, part of a project led by UGA researchers. Jars and a blue bottle rest on the table, while a window reveals greenery behind her. — Taylor Maddalene Myers, PhD, Director of the Circularity Assessment Protocol, in the Circularity Informatics Lab, of the Jambeck Research Group.

Jambeck Research Group’s contributions to the study

To help prepare the eXXpedition guest crew members for their mission, Maddalene Myers and her colleagues created training modules on the modified CAP methodology that are available to the crew before and during their voyage. They are also reaching out to experts in all the localities to be visited to interview academics, business owners, government representatives, waste management operators and non-profits about plastic pollution in each community and to better understand local policies regarding infrastructure, education, and material innovation. They summarize their findings and provide background briefings to the guest crew members who will collect the data during these journeys. All of the data collected during eXXpedition will be open-source and publicly available.

News from the voyage

Kiwi joins all-female voyage to tackle plastics problem in the Pacific (RNZ story includes interview with Taylor Maddalene Myers)
All-female global voyage mapping plastics sets sail in NZ (1 News story includes interview with Taylor Maddalene Myers)

The teams will also utilize the Marine Debris Tracker app, developed by Jambeck, to log litter found in the environment.

CIL has deployed the CAP in 60+ cities across 16 countries since the methodology was created and find it to be a reliable tool for assessing how plastic leaks into environments and for helping communities find localized solutions to tackle plastic pollution.

“Our team at CIL believes that communities have the right to optimize their own circularity, creating closed-loop systems that essentially make ‘waste’ obsolete,” said Maddalene Myers. “The CAP applies and quantifies the concept of circularity at the community level and provides data that can be used to inform decision-making and reduce pollution.”

Jambeck was on the inaugural voyage in 2014

eXXpedition is a series of all-women expeditions tackling the ocean plastic crisis. The organization takes crews to sea to witness the plastic problem first-hand, contribute to groundbreaking scientific research, and bring back stories that inspire change.

When ocean advocate Emily Penn co-founded eXXpedition a little over a decade ago, she invited Jambeck to be among the participants in its inaugural voyage in 2014. The research Jambeck published from that journey was pivotal in helping to inform the world about the problems with marine plastic pollution, as well as in the trajectory of her research career.

Jambeck is a Regents’ Professor and the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering. She is a co-founder of the UGA New Materials Institute.

A group of women, including UGA researchers, wearing life vests pose on a boat in front of a sign that reads eXXpedition. Several have red makeup or patches around one eye, highlighting their landmark expedition to study plastic pollution. — Emily Penn, center, and Jenna Jambeck, right, and their crewmates on the inaugural eXXpedition voyage. Photo courtesy of eXXpedition.

For additional information on the 2026-2027 eXXpedition teams’ study, see below:

Full Press Release from eXXpedition

Monday, 27th April 2026:

An all-women sailing expedition sets sail today on a mission to deliver the first global study mapping ocean plastic pollution back to its sources on land. Departing from Auckland, this first part of the voyage will sail across the South Pacific from New Zealand to Tonga.

Led by the British environmental organisation eXXpedition and renowned ocean advocate Emily Penn, the mission will fill critical gaps in our understanding of where ocean plastic comes from – and help pinpoint the most impactful solutions.

Aerial view of a white sailboat anchored in deep blue water with a small dinghy tied alongside, part of a landmark expedition by UGA researchers studying plastic pollution. — Aerial view of an eXXpedition voyage. Photo courtesy of eXXpedition and Yvan Neault.

“Plastic is polluting our entire ocean – and even our bodies – but the sources of that pollution differ,” said Emily Penn, eXXpedition Founder. “It’s a global problem, but there’s no single-fix. It needs local industry-specific, diverse solutions.”

The global expedition consists of 10 legs and 10 teams. With the first three legs fully crewed, today’s launch also opens applications for the remaining voyages — visiting the Arctic, Antarctica, Caribbean and North Pacific throughout 2026 and 2027. The last time eXXpedition set sail, over 10,000 women applied for just 300 crew places.

Why this matters now

The expedition comes at a critical moment for global ocean health and environmental policy. Despite widespread awareness, plastic pollution continues to accelerate:

An estimated 171 trillion plastic particles are now floating in the world’s ocean – up from around 5 trillion in 2014.

Talks for a UN Global Plastics Treaty stalled in August 2025, leaving no binding global limits on plastic production or toxic additives.

Corporate sustainability funding has fallen sharply, with companies scaling back their environmental teams and commitments.

With global progress not moving fast enough, the mission aims to strengthen the evidence base and create the agency and momentum needed to drive action. All results will be made freely available through an interactive, open-access global data platform. The expedition’s findings are also expected to inform international discussions, including those linked to the UN Global Plastics Treaty.

From local insights to a global picture

The mission will build on insights from eXXpedition’s previous Round the World voyage (2019–2021), which linked human activities with plastic pollution found in nearby waters. For example, microplastic samples collected in Antigua were dominated by paint and acrylic particles, which the team traced back to the local boatyard activities.

This year’s expedition will scale that approach globally, combining findings into a comprehensive map showing how plastic moves from land into the ocean and travels all around the world.

The resulting visualization will highlight areas already most burdened – and most at risk – helping to prioritize prevention, cleanup and policy interventions.

State-of-the-art science at sea

During the upcoming mission, crew members will use state-of-the-art equipment at sea – including the portable Spectrum Two FT-IR Spectrometer from PerkinElmer – to collect and analyse microplastics in surface ocean water and identify polymer types. Because each polymer has a unique chemical fingerprint, this in turn allows scientists to match fragments to their source materials.

On land, the team will complete the picture by conducting investigations into litter, consumer goods and waste management infrastructure. They will also work with local experts to gather further insight and identify opportunities to reduce or prevent plastic pollution.

In Penn’s words, “Our mission is to scientifically determine the source of specific pieces of plastic we find in the ocean – right back to where they came from. Which shop shelf? Which brand? With that knowledge, we can start designing and delivering solutions that really work.”

Collaboration with University of Georgia’s Circularity Informatics Lab

The scientific research will be led by the University of Georgia’s Circularity Informatics Lab in the United States, under the direction of Professor Dr Jenna Jambeck – a crew member of a previous eXXpedition mission. After her trip, Dr Jambeck went on to publish groundbreaking research that became one of the most cited papers ever on plastic pollution.

Crucially, the research on this mission will be conducted in collaboration with scientific partners, local communities and leaders in each region.

“Data is power – and it is crucial to get data into the hands of people who need it to make decisions,” said Jambeck.

Click here for more information, including the route map, expedition dates and media information.

Partners

These expeditions are made possible by crew contributions, sponsorships and partnerships. Thank you to our current partners: Kensington Tours, University of Georgia, The Commonwealth, PerkinElmer, 1% for the Planet, University of Auckland, 5 Gyres Institute, RMIT, Sustainable Coastlines, Finisterre, Chandler and Partners, Sail Seven Seas, Panexplore.