Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Do Social Media Posts Influence Consumption Behavior towards Plastic Pollution?

Researchers surveyed 213 individuals to assess how social media posts influence consumer behavior toward plastic pollution, finding that information campaigns on social media can shift attitudes and reduce plastic consumption intentions.

2021 Sustainability 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Media coverage, attention cycles and the governance of plastics pollution

This study analyzes how media coverage and public attention cycles affect governance responses to plastics pollution. Researchers found that heightened media attention has increased public engagement with plastics issues, but the coherence and durability of public pressure remains questionable. The study suggests that policymakers can leverage attention peaks to initiate longer-term reforms, and that reframing plastics as an economic and health issue may help sustain public concern.

2022 Environmental Policy and Governance 42 citations
Article Tier 2

A Study On Creating Awareness Of Plastic Usage To Promote Sustainable Practices For A Greener Future

This study examines educational interventions and awareness campaigns aimed at reducing plastic consumption and promoting sustainable practices, evaluating their effectiveness in shifting public attitudes and behaviors toward a lower-plastic future.

2025 International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research
Article Tier 2

Exploring the psychological antecedents of private and public sphere behaviours to reduce household plastic consumption

Researchers surveyed 648 people to understand what psychological factors drive different plastic-reduction behaviors — switching to plastic-free products, political activism, and supporting policy. Personal moral norms predicted all three types of action, while feeling personally capable was the strongest driver of purchase decisions, suggesting that reducing plastic use requires addressing both values and practical barriers.

2022 Environment Development and Sustainability 28 citations
Article Tier 2

What influences public support for plastic waste control policies and green consumption? Evidence from a multilevel analysis of survey data from 27 European countries

This multi-country survey across 27 European nations found that media use and country-level factors shape citizens' support for plastic waste policy and green consumption. People who consumed environmental news from diverse media sources were more likely to support plastic reduction policies and adopt green behaviors. The findings have implications for designing effective public communication strategies about plastic pollution.

2023 Online Media and Global Communication 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The influence of media narratives on microplastics risk perception

Researchers examined how media narratives about microplastic pollution influence public risk perception. The study argues that accurate and balanced reporting is essential to prevent misinformation and ensure people clearly understand the risks associated with microplastics. The findings suggest that understanding public perceptions can help design better interventions to reduce plastic consumption and its associated health and environmental impacts.

2023 PeerJ 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Predictive Power of Goal-striving Reasons for Self-reported and Actual Plastic Consumption

This psychology study examined whether people's reasons for reducing plastic use can predict their actual plastic consumption behavior. Understanding the psychological drivers of plastic reduction could inform more effective public communication campaigns about microplastic pollution.

2021 Humanities and Social Sciences
Article Tier 2

Public Attention Formation in the "Diet Kantong Plastik" Social Movement

This qualitative study examines how Indonesia's Plastic Bag Diet Movement used social media to build public attention for reducing plastic use, finding that consistent, informative messaging and strategic timing helped grow the campaign's reach. The research suggests that digital advocacy can effectively raise environmental awareness but must also close the gap between awareness and individual action.

2021 Ultimacomm 14 citations
Review Tier 2

From Awareness to Action: A Critical Review of Public Knowledge and Behavioral Gaps in Addressing Plastic Pollution

This review examined why public awareness of plastic pollution has not translated into meaningful behavioral change. The study found that most people focus on visible plastic waste like bottles and bags but have limited understanding of sources like microplastics from clothing and tires, with key barriers to action including convenience, cost, social norms, and distrust in recycling systems.

2026 International Journal of Science and Research Archive
Article Tier 2

Pro-Environmental Behaviour of Two Norway's Mainstream Mass Media

Researchers analyzed how two mainstream Norwegian mass media outlets address plastic waste issues in the Nordic region, examining their pro-environmental framing, stakeholder engagement strategies, and the constraints they face in driving government, NGO, and public action on plastic waste management.

2024 Journal of Strategic and Global Studies 1 citations
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Reducing plastic waste by visualizing marine consequences

This study tested whether showing people images of marine plastic pollution could motivate them to reduce their own plastic waste in an office building. The results suggest that visual reminders of environmental consequences can change behavior, which is important because reducing plastic consumption at the source is one of the most effective ways to limit the microplastic contamination that eventually reaches our bodies.

2021 2 citations
Review Tier 2

From Awareness to Action: A Critical Review of Public Knowledge and Behavioral Gaps in Addressing Plastic Pollution

This review examined why high public awareness of plastic pollution has not led to meaningful action. Researchers found that people tend to focus on visible pollution like bottles and bags while overlooking less obvious sources such as microplastics from clothing and tires. The study concludes that bridging the awareness-to-action gap requires strategies that address specific behavioral barriers including convenience, cost, and distrust in recycling systems.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

‘Windows of opportunity’: exploring the relationship between social media and plastic policies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Researchers analyzed social media activity in the USA, Mexico, and Australia to understand how COVID-19 was used as justification to roll back plastic reduction policies. Their analysis suggests governments exploited the pandemic as a "window of opportunity" to weaken plastic regulations under pressure from industry, not just for public health reasons — a pattern that social media data can reveal in near real-time.

2022 Policy Sciences 25 citations
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Evaluating the impact of the documentary series Blue Planet II on viewers' plastic consumption behaviors

This clinical trial tested whether watching the documentary Blue Planet II actually changed people's plastic consumption habits. While the show increased environmental knowledge and concern about ocean plastics, the study found limited evidence that it led to lasting changes in plastic-buying behavior. This highlights the challenge of translating awareness about microplastic pollution into meaningful reductions in plastic use.

2020 Conservation Science and Practice 61 citations
Review Tier 2

From Awareness to Action: A Critical Review of Public Knowledge and Behavioral Gaps in Addressing Plastic Pollution

This review examined why public awareness of plastic pollution has not translated into meaningful behavior change. Researchers found that most people focus on visible plastic items like bottles and bags but have limited knowledge about microplastics from clothing or tires. Key barriers to action include convenience, cost, social norms, and distrust in recycling systems, suggesting that education alone is insufficient without strategies targeting specific behavioral changes.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

On the way to reduce marine microplastics pollution. Research landscape of psychosocial drivers

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.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 18 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Surveys of Knowledge and Awareness of Plastic Pollution and Risk Reduction Behavior in the General Population: A Systematic Review

This systematic review examines public surveys about plastic pollution awareness and whether that knowledge leads people to change their behavior. Understanding what people know and do about plastic pollution is important because individual actions, like reducing single-use plastic, can meaningfully lower microplastic exposure for both people and the environment.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Harnessing Digital Platforms for Sustainable Marketing: Strategies to Reduce Single-Use Plastics in Consumer Behaviour

This study examined strategies for using digital platforms — including education campaigns, awareness initiatives, and interactive brand experiences — to influence consumer behavior toward reducing single-use plastic consumption, identifying key methods for leveraging social media, e-commerce, and digital marketing tools to promote sustainable alternatives.

2024 International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic literature review of voluntary behaviour change approaches in single use plastic reduction

This systematic review examines efforts to voluntarily reduce single-use plastic consumption through behavior change rather than legislation. The research finds that while government bans on plastics are effective, voluntary approaches that respect individual choice can also make a difference. Understanding what motivates people to reduce plastic use is key to tackling the microplastic pollution problem at its source.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices toward Plastic Pollution among Malaysians: Implications for Minimizing Plastic Use and Pollution

Researchers surveyed Malaysians about their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding plastic pollution. The study found that while most people were aware of plastic pollution problems, there was a significant gap between awareness and actual behavior change. The findings suggest that education campaigns alone are insufficient and need to be paired with practical infrastructure and policy changes to reduce plastic use.

2023 Sustainability 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Media Issue Crystallization: The Case of Microplastic in Denmark

This study examined how Danish news media constructed and framed microplastic pollution as an emerging environmental issue, analyzing the process by which a complex scientific problem becomes a public concern. Media framing of microplastics influences public awareness and political action on plastic pollution.

2021 Environmental Communication 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Public knowledge of microplastics for pro-environmental behavior

Researchers analyzed public knowledge of microplastics and its relationship to pro-environmental behavior, finding that because microplastics are invisible to the naked eye, public perception depends entirely on external information sources rather than direct experience, with implications for environmental communication strategies.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Telling stories about (micro)plastic pollution: Media images, public perceptions and social change

This paper examines how microplastic pollution has been framed in media reporting and how the public understands the issue, finding that culturally embedded ideas about risk and health shape people's responses. Understanding media framing and public perception is important for designing effective communication strategies around microplastic contamination.

2018
Article Tier 2

Extending the theory of planned behaviour to investigate the issue of microplastics in the marine environment

Researchers extended the theory of planned behaviour to investigate public attitudes toward marine microplastic pollution, finding that environmental awareness and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted consumers' intentions to reduce microplastic-generating product use.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 25 citations