Investigating the ‘criminal waste’ of plastic at crime scenes
University of Portsmouth PhD Student Wins Churchill Fellowship grant to Combat Plastic Waste at Crime Scenes
A veteran Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) and current PhD student from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth, has been awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship grant to tackle the growing issue of plastic waste in forensic investigations. This grant will take her across three continents as she visits Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore to explore sustainable practices in crime scene units globally.
Becci Henderson, who is also a member of the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth has 23 years of experience in crime scene investigation. She has seen a dramatic increase in single-use plastic (SUP) waste at crime scenes. Items such as swabs, exhibit bags, PPE, wipes, and drop sheets contribute significantly to environmental degradation. At just a single crime scene Becci generated 2kg of plastic waste at a single crime scene, much of which was unopened and unused, costing her force £78 to replace.
"Despite the regular consumption of SUPs in the field of forensics, particularly at Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) level, the generation of SUP waste, and the overall sustainability of consumables, has never been addressed."
– Becci Henderson , PhD student
Becci says: “Despite the regular consumption of SUPs in the field of forensics, particularly at Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) level, the generation of SUP waste, and the overall sustainability of consumables, has never been addressed. I need to change that. As police forces strive to meet strict ISO accreditation stipulations, the resulting mountain of plastic waste is worsening. I want to reduce the reliance on plastic in the CSI and forensic sector, replacing it with sustainable packaging whilst, crucially, maintaining the integrity of the evidence stored within it.”
The Churchill Fellowship will enable Becci to learn from international practices and bring innovative solutions back to the UK. She will investigate how other countries manage SUP waste in forensics, aiming to reduce the environmental footprint of crime scene investigations without compromising evidence integrity.
Becci says: "I'm hopeful that by liaising with these countries and sharing ideas, I can significantly reduce the amount of plastic entering the crime scene sector and come up with solutions to ensure less plastic waste is incinerated or landfilled."
"I'm hopeful that by liaising with these countries and sharing ideas, I can significantly reduce the amount of plastic entering the crime scene sector and come up with solutions to ensure less plastic waste is incinerated or landfilled."
– Becci Henderson , PhD student
Becci’s research will take her to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore, where she will physically witness CSIs in action, understand their use of sustainable packaging, and identify practices that can be adopted in the UK. Notably, Australia and New Zealand have rejected ISO standards in favor of bespoke CSI Quality Assurance Systems, significantly reducing their SUP waste. Australia’s average plastic waste per capita (42.79kg) is less than half that of the UK (98.6kg).
Upon her return, Becci plans to present her findings to the UK’s National Scenes of Crime Consumables Board, aiming to influence the design and use of forensic consumables nationwide. Her goal is to strip unnecessary plastic from packaging, thereby minimizing plastic input and waste output in the forensic sector and increasing the recyclability of consumables.
Becci’s initiative has already attracted interest from other emergency services, highlighting the broader implications of her work. By targeting unnecessary plastic waste, her project could reduce public monetary waste and set a precedent for sustainability in other public sector organizations.
