Karlijn Sibbel, Chief Innovation Officer at seaweed and plant-based packaging company Notpla, will join eXXpedition’s South Pacific research voyage this June, bringing the perspective of the alternative materials sector to a scientific mission tracing plastic pollution through ocean and land ecosystems.
Tracking plastic upstream
The voyage through Tonga, running 2 to 11 June 2026, forms part of eXXpedition’s ten-leg global programme mapping not just where plastic accumulates, but where it originates and how it travels. Using spectrometry, crew members will identify microplastic polymer types in surface waters and link them to source materials, alongside land-based investigations into coastal litter, local packaging use, and waste management systems. All scientific data is made publicly available.
“Every material choice has consequences that travel far beyond the lab”
For Sibbel, the expedition is directly connected to the work of developing materials that avoid these outcomes in the first place. “Every material choice has consequences that travel far beyond the lab, and the ocean is where those consequences become confrontingly visible,” she said.
The context is stark. An estimated 171 trillion plastic particles now circulate in the world’s oceans, and research into microplastics in food systems, water supplies, and the human body is growing. International treaty negotiations aimed at capping plastic production have stalled, leaving no binding global limits in place.
Co-founder and Co-CEO Pierre Paslier framed the expedition in terms of a fundamental materials argument: “Plastic isn’t just a waste issue. It’s a materials issue. Microplastics are a direct result of how materials are designed, and that’s where change needs to happen.”
The case for plant-based materials
Notpla, founded at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, produces packaging from seaweed and plant-based inputs as a direct replacement for conventional single-use plastic. The company won the Earthshot Prize in 2022 and has replaced more than 40 million single-use plastic items to date.
Sibbel continued, “Understanding what plastic actually does in the real world, where it comes from and how it flows through it, doesn’t just inform the materials we develop at Notpla. It shapes how we think about the solutions we build, the packaging we prioritise, and where we focus our energy.”
eXXpedition was founded by ocean advocate Emily Penn. “We’re excited to welcome Karlijn onboard, bringing expertise in material innovation and packaging design into the conversation,” Penn said.
