Building Collective Ownership of Single-Use Plastic Waste in Youth Communities: A Jamaican Case Study

Plastic pollution is a global environmental challenge with serious implications for human health. Most of the work on plastic waste to date has focused on assessing and mapping impacts and remedial activities, which are important but do not attempt to understand the attitude and behaviour of the consumer. The problem will only be resolved by changing behaviour to eliminate non-essential use of plastics and switch to less harmful alternatives, especially for Single-Use Plastic (SUP), which makes a disproportionate contribution to plastic waste. This study examines the attitudes and behaviour of teachers and parents/guardians in school communities as a step towards building collective ownership of SUP towards reducing the use of SUP. It establishes baseline data about attitudes and behaviour in four Jamaican primary schools. It examines the attitude of teachers and parents/guardians towards SUPs and uses cluster analysis to segment them based on attitude. The results identify the heterogeneous nature of groups within the same population and highlights the need for targeted interventions. This research can contribute towards the design of strategic interventions that will build a sense of collective ownership of the SUP problem and motivate effective changes in behaviour to minimise the use of SUPs in Jamaica.

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Plastic waste

10.31219/osf.io/umr5s ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Phạm Hà Trang ◽

Hoang Truong Giang ◽

Nguyen Cam Duong

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Global Problem ◽

Single Use ◽

Plastic Products

Plastic pollution is an urgent global problem that threatens the entire ecosystem, causing climate change and many other consequences that humans have to bear. Therefore, citizens need to uphold their sense of responsibility, consciously change living habits, say no to single-use plastic products. Protecting the environment, limiting plastic waste is protecting ourselves.

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The Impact of Leadership and Targeted Interventions to Close the Achievement Gap of Disadvantaged Pupils: A Case Study

European Journal of Educational Management ◽

10.12973/eujem.4.2.97 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 97-108

Author(s):

Feyisa Demie

Keyword(s):

Achievement Gap ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Success Factors ◽

School Leaders ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Effective School ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

National Significance ◽

The Impact

This research explores the impact of effective leadership and targeted interventions in closing the achievement gap of disadvantaged pupils in primary schools. Findings suggest that the case study schools use effective school leaders and a range of targeted interventions including early intervention, small group additional teaching, one-to-one tuition, peer tutoring, parental involvement, booster class, mastery learning, pastoral care, and enrichment programmes. Each of the above success factors and intervention strategies was explored in detail in the paper. The overall conclusions of this study are that the case study schools have closed the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers through providing effective school leaders and the use of a range of effective intervention strategies. We would suggest that the case study schools’ stories of how they have closed the achievement gap through providing strong school leaders and the use of targeted interventions are of local and national significance. Our research also suggests the possibilities for further research. The recommendations from the study are that there is a need to replicate and expand this research with a larger sample of the study, in order to explore in detail what works in schools.

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‘Drinking and Dropping’: On Interacting with Plastic Pollution and Waste in South-Eastern Nigeria

10.21203/rs.3.rs-137350/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lesley Henderson ◽

Emeka W. Dumbili

Keyword(s):

Peer Group ◽

Pure Water ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Individual Responsibility ◽

Environmental Harm ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Single Use

Abstract Nigeria is reported as having released up to 0.34 million tonnes of plastic debris into the ocean in 2010 and ranked ninth country in the world for pollution of the marine environment. It is a postcolonial, oil-rich country where plastic is cheap and widely available. Currently, there is no government policy regulating single-use plastic products. Previous studies have identified university student residential areas as ‘hot spots’ for plastic waste. We used qualitative methods (focus groups and semi-structured interviews) to explore how students made sense of their single use plastics consumption (including ‘pure water’ plastic sachets) and analysed how young Nigerians interact with plastic waste. Students perceived plastic waste as malodorous, causing harm to human health and blighting environmental aesthetics. Students saw themselves as the cause of plastic pollution (as consumers) whereas plastic industries were framed positively as producers bringing progress and prosperity. Participants were open about their indiscriminate littering practices subverting other study findings where responsibility tends to be deflected (to policy makers, producers). While we are relying on self-reported behaviour, we found no obvious link between awareness of environmental harm caused by plastic pollution and students’ actions. Within this peer group of young Nigerians, it was not considered ‘normal’ or ‘cool’ socially to use waste bins or recycle. We suggest that further research is needed into how plastic pollution is made sense of in terms of individual responsibility; lay understandings of miasmas; perceptions of public/private spaces and plastics as a signifier of modernity and enhanced social status.

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Bill Calls for Dramatically Cutting Plastic Pollution

Eos ◽

10.1029/2020eo140084 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

Author(s):

Randy Showstack

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Plastic Recycling ◽

Single Use ◽

Set Up

With just 8% of plastic waste in the United States currently being recycled, the bill aims to set up an effective plastic recycling program and limit single-use plastic.

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Public Perceptions of Legislative Action on Reducing Plastic Pollution: A Case Study of Atlantic Canada

10.20944/preprints202201.0192.v1 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Shen Molloy ◽

Andrew Medeiros ◽

Tony Walker ◽

Sarah Saunders

Keyword(s):

Public Support ◽

Public Perceptions ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

The Public ◽

Legislative Action ◽

Plastic Bags ◽

Public Acceptability ◽

Single Use

Government-led legislation is a key strategy to reduce plastic pollution; however, societal perception can heavily influence government intervention for environmental issues. To understand the public acceptability of government action to reduce plastic pollution, we examine the perception of existing and upcoming legislative action on single-use plastics by means of a structured survey with additional semi-structured interviews. Our focus is on the four Atlantic provinces of Canada, which was the first region in Canada to implement provincial-wide legislation for plastic reduction at the consumer level in 2019. Results show strong public support (77 %, n = 838) for bans on single-use plastic bags at the consumer level, and for further plastic pollution reduction legislation. However, the level of support differed between regions and by demographics. Semi-structured interviews show that decision-makers should increase efforts in raising consumer awareness and standardizing regulations across jurisdictions for smoother transitions prior to legislative action.

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Plastic-degrading potential across the global microbiome correlates with recent pollution trends

10.1101/2020.12.13.422558 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jan Zrimec ◽

Mariia Kokina ◽

Sara Jonasson ◽

Francisco Zorrilla ◽

Aleksej Zelezniak

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Management ◽

Environmental Dna ◽

Taxonomic Composition ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

The Earth ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Dna Sampling ◽

Microbiome Data ◽

Country Specific

Poor recycling has accumulated millions of tons of plastic waste in terrestrial and marine environments. While biodegradation is a plausible route towards sustainable management of plastic waste, the global diversity of plastic-degrading enzymes remains poorly understood. Taking advantage of global environmental DNA sampling projects, here we construct HMM models from experimentally-verified enzyme sequences and mine ocean and soil metagenomes to assess the global potential of microorganisms to degrade plastics. By controlling for false-positives using gut microbiome data, we compile a catalogue of over 30,000 non-redundant enzyme homologues with the potential to degrade 10 different plastic types. While differences between the ocean and soil microbiomes likely reflect the base compositions of these environments, we find that ocean enzyme abundance might increase with depth as a response to plastic pollution and not merely taxonomic composition. By obtaining further pollution measurements, we reveal that the abundance of the uncovered enzymes in both ocean and soil habitats significantly correlates with marine and country-specific plastic pollution trends. Our study thus uncovers the Earth microbiome's potential to degrade plastics, providing evidence of a measurable effect of plastic pollution on the global microbial ecology as well as a useful resource for further applied research.

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Adding Value: Upcycling problematic plastic waste through digital craft

10.26686/wgtn.16675786 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Huy Tim

Keyword(s):

Field Research ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Research Approach ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Waste Streams ◽

Cultural Shift ◽

Research Through Design ◽

Practice Based Research ◽

3D Printed ◽

Single Use

Plastic pollution is and continues to be a growing problem in today’s world. The consequences of its abundance and combination of take, make, and waste practices linger within our environment and landfills, resulting in negative social, economic, and environmental impacts. Due to China’s new waste ban, New Zealand (NZ) is no longer able to export plastic waste overseas. With the current inadequate waste management infrastructure and without recycling restrictions on different types of plastics, this waste stream becomes complex and problematic. A significant amount of this waste originates from single-use and non-recyclable plastics, which has only increased over time with the emergence of consumer convenience packaging. Thus, in addition to new infrastructure and systems, a cultural shift and greater awareness is needed to address the plastic waste issue. There are existing industry leaders who have successfully closed the loop for recycling certain plastic waste streams in NZ. However, field research has revealed that even within such closed looped systems, some residual non-recyclable waste still remains. This research proposes to add new value to this low value and problematic waste in the form of highly crafted artefacts. This opportunity is explored with a ‘Research through Design’ methodology focusing on 3D printing and digital craft. This includes a practice-based research approach that includes material experimentation and reflective practice to inform the creation of design outputs. The investigation explores the upcycling of bottle caps and sticker labels as difficult and low value waste streams. Outputs include 3D printed artefacts for a variety of applications, including lighting, furniture and craft objects. These design outputs aim to demonstrate how undervalued and neglected materials can be reincarnated in a more durable form, to raise awareness and elicit responses regarding throwaway culture and the global waste problem.

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Environmental impact assessment of plastic waste during the outbreak of COVID-19 and integrated strategies for its control and mitigation

Reviews on Environmental Health ◽

10.1515/reveh-2021-0098 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Shahrah Al Qahtani ◽

Fatimah Al Wuhayb ◽

Hacene Manaa ◽

Adnan Younis ◽

Shama Sehar

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuel ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Environmental Issue ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Single Use ◽

Plastic Products

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, many positive shifts have been observed in the ecosystem, with a significant decrease in the greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. On the other hand, there were unavoidable negative shifts due to a surge in demand for plastic products such as food and groceries’ delivery packaging, single-use plastics, medical and personal protective equipment to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Plastic pollution can be considered as a key environmental issue in world due to the huge footprints of plastics on natural ecosystems and public health. Herein, we presented an overview on the rise of plastic pollution during the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential sources of plastic waste during COVID-19 with its negative effects on the environment such as marine ecosystems and the global economics are highlighted. We also suggested some strategies and recommendations to tackle plastic leakages by applying feedstock recycling, sterilization, and with the use of biodegradable plastics that have become a sustainable alternative to fossil fuel plastics. Also, the importance of elevating public awareness and some recommendations to mitigate plastic generated during the pandemic has been addressed as well.

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Against Cyberbullying Actions: An Italian Case Study

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042055 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2055

Author(s):

Patrizia Grifoni ◽

Alessia D’Andrea ◽

Fernando Ferri ◽

Tiziana Guzzo ◽

Maurizio Angeli Felicioni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Schools ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Italian Case ◽

2030 Agenda ◽

Cyber Safety ◽

Development Goals ◽

Research Questions ◽

Teachers And Parents

The paper aimed to analyse cyberbullying knowledge and awareness among students, teachers, and parents of 22 Italian primary schools to extract elements to consider for defining successful cyberbullying prevention and management strategies in coherence with some sustainable development goals defined in the 2030 Agenda. Four different research questions have been addressed to analyse: what the level of cyberbullying diffusion is, its triggering factors, its knowledge and awareness, and how the problem is addressed. The study highlighted both the importance of adopting a collaborative perspective among the students, teachers and parents, and to prevent and solve cyberbullying problems stimulating a collective awareness about cyber safety in schools. Some generalisable lessons emerged from the study.

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Policy and Legislations on Microplastics Pollution Management in Vietnam

VNU Journal of Science Policy and Management Studies ◽

10.25073/2588-1116/vnupam.4302 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Nguyen Trung Thang ◽

Duong Thi Phuong Anh ◽

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Solid Waste Management ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Plastic Pollution ◽

Integrated Solid Waste Management ◽

Legal Documents ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Vision 2030

Plastic pollution has become a major global environmental problem. The amount of plastic waste, including microplastics discharged into the environment, is on the increase, causing harm to the environment, ecosystems, especially marine ecosystems, entering the food chain, and affecting human health. Recognizing the environmental risks of plastic waste, the State has issued many legal documents on plastic waste management such as the Law on Environmental Protection (2014, 2020); Law on Environmental Protection Tax 2010; National environmental protection strategy up to 2020, Vision 2030; National strategy on integrated solid waste management up to 2025, Vision 2050, among others. However, there are still many shortcomings to plastic waste management in Vietnam, e.g. there are no effective solutions in reducing, sorting, collecting, reusing, recycling and treating waste. More importantly, public awareness and understanding of microplastic pollution in Vietnam still need improving. Therefore, pollution caused by microplastics needs to be studied and evaluated in relation to its origin, current situation, impacts and management policies.

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