Highways England has launched a study into whether surface water run-off from roads affects the level of microplastics in the environment.
The government-owned company said it has published initial research looking at the existing evidence and what further research is needed. This has secured funding to investigate the issue further through on-road investigations.
It said this will help it better understand the scale of the issue and the nature of the problem and identify any further detailed research needed.
Highways England said the work will also ensure that its understanding of the environmental effects associated with the strategic road network is up to date, and that the assessment and design guidance standards in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges are robust.
Michael Whitehead, principal advisor for water, said: ‘Highways England takes environmental issues seriously and recognises the global concern around microplastic pollution.
‘The outcome of further research will be the evidence base to inform future decision making, enabling us to take positive action to manage identified risks, inform policy and identify further areas of research.’
Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency deputy director water quality, groundwater and contaminated land, said: ‘We supported this research by Highways England as it provided a valuable review into the current knowledge of the potential scale of microplastic and chemical pollution from highways.’
Highways England said its desktop research involved identifying suitable methods to collect and analyse samples of road run-off to establish the presence or absence of microplastics.
Alice Horton from the National Oceanography Centre said: ‘This study has identified the critical knowledge gaps that should be addressed going forwards to enable us to understand the extent and implications of microplastic run-off from roads, and measures that should be put in place to limit this environmental contamination.'
Judith Brammer, microplastics technical lead for the Atkins Jacobs Joint Venture, said: ‘This is cutting edge research that has the potential to transform our understanding of the contribution of road run-off to microplastics in the water environment.
‘The Atkins and Jacob Joint Venture sat at the heart of it, gathering and assessing the evidence base to guide future research, informing Highways England’s policy and decision-making going forward.’
