22/05/2025 – Today, Ms. Steffie Hoareau, Research Officer at BERI, is setting sail on board Plastic Odyssey for a week-long oceanographic expedition on the Seychelles Plateau. The mission is supported by the IOC-ExPLOI project that looks at the circularity of solid waste management with a scientific component focusing on marine plastics. Together with Dr. Leon Biscornet (Ministry of Health) and Ms. Alvania Lawen (Parley), the Seychellois team will investigate the potential role of marine plastics as a vector of pathogens and how they enter the marine food web by collecting plankton samples. The expedition, that departed from Mauritius three weeks ago is hosting scientists from neighbouring countries, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar and Comoros, who join forces on marine plastics research, as one of the greatest environmental challenges in the Blue Economy. The Plastic Odyssey team will stay in Seychelles after the expedition to engage with citizens on the socio-environmental challenge of circular economy, solid waste management and to demonstrate affordable solutions for plastic waste reduction.