Abstract
The use and management of single use plastics is a major area of concern for the public, regulatory and business worlds. Focusing on the most commonly occurring consumer plastic items present in European freshwater environments, we identified and evaluated consumer-based actions with respect to their direct or indirect potential to reduce macroplastic pollution in freshwater environments. As the main end users of these items, concerned consumers are faced with a bewildering array of choices to reduce their plastics footprint, notably through recycling or using reusable items. Using a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis approach, we explored the effectiveness of 27 plastic reduction actions with respect to their feasibility, economic impacts, environmental impacts, unintended social/environmental impacts, potential scale of change and evidence of impact. The top ranked consumer-based actions were identified as: using wooden or reusable cutlery; switching to reusable water bottles; using wooden or reusable stirrers; using plastic free cotton-buds; and using refill detergent/ shampoo bottles. We examined the feasibility of top-ranked actions using a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) to explore the complexities inherent in their implementation for consumers, businesses, and government to reduce the presence of plastic in the environment.
Highlights
Managing plastic pollution has become a major international environmental priority [1] due to observed and estimated damage that plastics can cause to aquatic wildlife and ecosystems [2]
(1) We identified a set of criteria against which to evaluate the actions to reduce the top ten plastic items identified in European freshwater environments [10]
Our findings comprise of quantitative results from the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) total action scores for the 27 plastic reduction actions and SWOT qualitative results on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the same actions
Summary
Managing plastic pollution has become a major international environmental priority [1] due to observed and estimated damage that plastics can cause to aquatic wildlife and ecosystems (both freshwater and marine) [2]. Between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the ocean annually [3], the majority of which has land-based origins and is transported primarily by rivers [4, 5]. Billions of single-use plastic items are used annually in the UK alone (e.g. 14.5 plastic bottles [6]) and varying proportions of these are littered (e.g. 31.9% of cigarette butts are littered in the UK [7]). Pollution in Rivers: a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Approach" ver 1.
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