Plastic in the Arctic – meet us in Reykjavik at Arctic Circle

Sirkus Plastikus is a project where circus performers and researchers on plastic pollution are coming together to explore and communicate the reality of plastic waste in the Arctic Sea.

Performers from Kulta culture centre in Tromsø and new circus group Hringleikur in Iceland bring the plastic creatures from the deep sea alive, through acrobatics and performance art.

Plastic in the Arctic

Plastic pollution has become one of the biggest global environmental problems and is a threat to arctic ecosystems. A new research program in the Fram Centre will establish and disseminate knowledge about the extent, distribution and transport of plastic contamination to the High North, and explore how it affects Arctic ecosystems on land, sea ice and in the ocean.

Through an interdisciplinary research program dedicated to the plastics problem, «Plastic in the Arctic» will map plastic and microplastic distribution in the Arctic and generate new knowledge about the environmental impacts of plastic. The results will contribute to research-based measures to reduce the negative effects of plastics on ecosystem services, human health and business development.

International cooperation

Plastic pollution is a global problem and measures to reduce plastic emissions require international cooperation and new solutions that can lead to a sustainable circular economy. Participants from various institutions in the Fram Centre are well integrated into international research networks and collaborate with researchers from Nordic and European countries and even further afield. In addition, Norway has a prominent role in the international discussion about suitable measures and regulations to combat plastic emissions in a global context.

A scientific plan will be launched in October 2018.