I am a practising Sussex Police crime scene investigator with over 20 years' experience. I am also a geography graduate with a passion for nature and the environment.

Over the course of my career, particularly the last decade, I have noticed a surge in the amount of single-use plastic waste we generate as a result of our scene examination work. Much of the waste is either unused or unnecessary and has no bearing on the integrity of the forensic evidence we are recovering. At one crime scene, I generated over 2kg of plastic waste, �78 of which was unused (because it was taken into the scene, it had to be disposed of). I have set up several initiatives to recycle or donate unused or expired kit, but I want to reduce the amount of plastic entering the sector in the first place.

By travelling to forensic departments in countries that have adopted similar quality assurance frameworks to the UK (ISO17020 or ISO17025), I hope to identify equipment and practices that reduce the impact that crime scene investigation and police evidence recovery has on the environment.