Dr Tom Stanton
Senior Lecturer in Geography at Loughborough University
Earth and environmental sciences · Chemistry · Community science
Like footprints in the sand, Tom Stanton studies what the materials we use every day leave behind. From plastics and textiles to other forms of pollution, his research traces how materials move through rivers, lakes and coastlines, and what happens to them over time. Rather than focusing on pollution alone, Tom is interested in the hidden connections between people, materials and the environment.
Tom is particularly interested in the materials we often overlook and while plastics dominate material pollution conversations, his research also explores the footprints left by other materials, including natural fibres such as cotton and wool.
His experience has also shown him that some of the most meaningful information can come from outside environmental, and even formal scientific, enquiry. While working with communities on Scotland's west coast, he found that some of the most valuable insights about materials pollution came from the people who know the shoreline best. Their knowledge of the objects that wash ashore, where they accumulate and what they mean to local communities have contributed valuable context to Tom's work that science alone couldn’t uncover.
This is central to Tom's approach. Through his work, he combines environmental science with local history, culture and communities, and complementary material disciplines. Tom believes that understanding the connections materials have to the environment means understanding and learning from the people, stories, and material cultures connected to them, not just collecting environmental data.
Tom's lifelong affinity with water began growing up near the River Trent, where he spent much of his childhood rowing and exploring the outdoors. The rivers and waterways that first sparked his curiosity now form the backdrop to a career dedicated to understanding how people and materials shape the environments around us.
