The Adrift Lab is an international research cooperative (and UK registered charity) based in Australia (Dr Jennifer Lavers; left), the UK (Dr Alex Bond; right) and Aotearoa New Zealand (Dr Jack Rivers-Auty) who worked on this study with recent PhD graduate Dr Alix de Jersey and former postdoc Dr Morgan Gilmour. We study what the ocean carries — plastic, chemicals, and their consequences for marine wildlife — using long-term datasets, laboratory analysis, and field ecology. Our findings inform marine and waste policy, and we work actively to communicate them to communities, policymakers, and the broader public.