Abstract
This paper explores people's knowledge and understandings of microplastics; the role of media in framing perceptions and socio-cultural dimensions to popular solutions to reduce single-use plastics. We conducted 6 focus groups (2016–17) involving participants with no obvious knowledge of microplastics and some with special interest. Most people were unaware of microplastics though environmentally conscious participants had heard of microbeads due to media reporting concerning regulation. Few made connections between their personal use of plastics and ocean pollution. Plastic pollution was associated with macro-plastic ‘islands’ in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and powerful media images of charismatic wildlife entanglement remote from participants lives. The scale of microplastics (not easily detected), poor understanding of the science behind microplastics and cultural ideas about healthy and appropriate behaviour presents barriers to change. Science communicators, NGOs, industry and policy makers must take account of media representations and the culturally embedded nature of plastics in society.
Highlights
This paper explores people's knowledge and understandings of microplastics; the role of media in framing perceptions and socio-cultural dimensions to popular solutions to reduce single-use plastics
While there is no single body of work in Sociology and Communications which addresses public understandings of microplastics this paper extends interdisciplinary research involving Sociology and Communications specialists which found that microbeads represented an “unnatural” unacceptable risk (Anderson et al, 2016)
Our participants had witnessed the problem of plastic pollution regularly in their everyday life
Summary
This paper explores people's knowledge and understandings of microplastics; the role of media in framing perceptions and socio-cultural dimensions to popular solutions to reduce single-use plastics. There are documented encounters of 693 wildlife species with marine debris, impacted through ingestion, entanglement, transport and habitat alteration (Gall and Thompson, 2015) This litter presents a navigational hazard, disrupts and reduces the catch of commercial and subsistence fishing activity and degrades environments, threatening life, leading to losses in tourism and economically impacting marine sectors and local communities. In 2010 alone it was estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean from coastal countries (Jambeck et al, 2015) These persistent materials can be transported long distances on ocean currents and resist biodegradation, breaking up into smaller and smaller “microplastic” pieces, which has allowed them to accumulate over time to cause ubiquitous, near permanent contamination of the marine environment (Geyer et al, 2017; Law and Thompson, 2014)
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