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How plastic is our plastic culture? Reducing our consumption of single-use plastics
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This paper examines the cultural and economic forces that have made single-use plastics so embedded in modern life, making them difficult to reduce despite known environmental harms. Understanding the social dimensions of plastic consumption — not just technical solutions — is essential for effectively reducing the microplastic pollution they ultimately generate.
Our deep attachment to plastics exists within a complex set of relationships between manufacturers, consumers, markets, and environmental forces. In this paper, I question the reasons behind these relationships and seek to discover why we have become so attached to plastics, and why it is so hard to break this attachment. The effects of plastics extend far beyond the issue of litter, but relate to our construction of identity and our sense of social justice. In this paper, I will argue that plastic is reflective of who we are, and also reflective of the global inequalities we have created and is thus an important social justice issue. I will employ the theory of political ecology to analyze the consumption of single-use plastics within industrialized countries and to untangle these complex relationships. This theory will highlight the influence of finance and power and help to unravel the role of industry and institutions in the seemingly agential decisions we make as consumers. I will then discuss why the plastics problem is so pressing, and why we need to change our culture of single-use plastics. The issue of single-use plastics has widespread global effects, and thus solving the plastics problem is a matter of social justice. I will then apply a political ecological framework to argue that single-use plastics are an integral part of consumer culture, and lie at the core of our identity as a society. Finally, I will turn to the question of how and if our plastic culture is capable of changing.
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How plastic is our plastic culture?
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This social science paper explores why modern societies have become so deeply attached to plastics, arguing that plastic use reflects cultural identity, economic relationships, and global inequalities rather than mere convenience. The analysis suggests that addressing plastic pollution requires confronting deeper societal values and structures.
Our life with plastic, a review of plastic product abuse in the age of consumerism
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This review examines the psychology, sociology, and culture of plastic consumerism alongside the scientific evidence for microplastic health harms, arguing that social sciences should complement natural science research by promoting rational product choices and awareness.
Why is there plastic packaging in the natural environment? Understanding the roots of our individual plastic waste management behaviours
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This review explores why individuals mismanage plastic packaging waste, finding that the disconnect between discarding behavior and its visible consequences is a key factor, as is the deep historical rootedness of waste disposal habits in different cultures. The authors argue that policies to reduce plastic littering face fundamental behavioral constraints that require approaches beyond simple regulation.
On the way to reduce marine microplastics pollution. Research landscape of psychosocial drivers
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A review of psychosocial drivers of marine plastic pollution found that factors including consumer convenience preferences, low perceived personal responsibility, and weak norm activation explain why behavioral change around plastic use is slow, and that interventions combining social norms messaging with structural changes show the most promise.
The Impact of the plastic waste on the Environment
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Researchers surveyed 50 respondents in a mixed primary-secondary analysis of plastic pollution awareness and behavior, finding that while public knowledge of plastic degradation into microplastics was high, actual behavioral change remained low — with convenience and lack of alternatives cited as primary barriers to reducing plastic use.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.