Society Role in the Reduction of Plastic Pollution

Title data

Sandu, Cristina ; Takacs, Emoke ; Suaria, Giuseppe ; Borgogno, Franco ; Laforsch, Christian ; Löder, Martin G. J. ; Tweehuysen, Gijsbert ; Florea, Letitia:
Society Role in the Reduction of Plastic Pollution.
In: Stock, Friederike ; Reifferscheid, Georg ; Brennholt, Nicole ; Kostianaia, Evgeniia (ed.): Handbook of Environmental Chemistry : Plastics in the Aquatic Environment. Part II. Stakeholders Role against Pollution. - Cham : Springer Nature , 2020 . - pp. 39-65
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2020_483

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Abstract in another language

Globally, plastic pollution generates a dramatic environmental impact,posing an increasing hazard to wildlife and human health. Complex measures areneeded at the societal level to curb this pollution trend: from changing consumerbehavior, enhanced research for innovative solutions to reduce plastic productionand increase plastic recycling ratio, to the usage of environmentally friendlieralternatives, improved awareness raising, and information dissemination at widerscales. There are multiple possibilities for public and stakeholders to break theplastic pollution chain: education, research, environmental NGOs, plastic industry,local authorities, policy makers, and citizens–all can play an active role in thebattle against pollution. This chapter presents the ways to induce an attitudeshift at the societal level toward reduction of plastic pollution, by emphasizing therisks of plastic pollution, possibilities to change consumer behavior, examplesof best practices to reduce pollution and improve plastic waste management,highlighting how education and science can improve our daily decisions towardgreen solutions, how social media can support with dedicated applications andawareness-raising campaigns, and how each stakeholder can contribute to tacklethis global challenge.