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Research on Estimating Plastic Leakage into the Environment

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2022) | Viewed by 18716

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Britta Denise Hardesty

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Guest Editor

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
Interests: plastic pollution; marine ecology; movement ecology; resource management; policy and governance

Dr. Qamar Schuyler

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Guest Editor

CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As you are well-aware, plastic waste entering the environment is a growing social, economic and environmental hazard. While there is an estimated 4.8-2 million metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste entering the ocean each year, overall there has been little large-scale, empirical work to understand how accurate that estimate is. To fill this data gap, we invite you to submit your work providing evidence of how much, what types, and where litter is entering the environment within your country or region. The focus of this special issue is to highlight original research taking place at multiple countries around the world, with an eye to enabling comparisons at multiple scales whilst understanding key drivers that result in waste entering the environment. We invite you to include opportunities to reduce plastic and increase sustainability at local, regional and global scales in your submission. We also ask you to contextualize your research, relating your work to the growing body of existing literature on this important topic, whilst sharing information regarding relevant governance or policy related measures aimed at reducing waste leakage to the environment and/or resource recovery.

Dr. Britta Denise Hardesty
Dr. Qamar Schuyler
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

marine debris
litter
plastic pollution
policy
governance
sustainability
leakage
socio-economics
land use
stratified random sampling
citizen science

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 255 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ranking Sri Lanka among the World’s Top Mismanaged Waste Polluters: Does Model Data Change the Story?

by R. R. M. K. P. Ranatunga, Dilhara Wijetunge, W. V. P. H. Ranaweera, Chin-Chang Hung, Shang-Yin Vanson Liu, Qamar Schuyler, T. J. Lawson and Britta Denise Hardesty

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2687; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032687 - 02 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4555

Abstract

The accumulation of Mismanaged Plastic Waste (MPW) in the environment is a global concern. The amount of waste generated by countries is estimated using globally available data layers and/or empirical surveys. Unlike globally available metadata, MPW estimates based on empirical surveys allow for better visualization of amounts, potential pathways, and hotspots. A model study conducted in 2015, based on global metadata, ranked Sri Lanka in fifth position among the world’s worst mismanaged plastic offenders. However, there is significant uncertainty in the source data on waste generation and the parameters used for model prediction, such as plastic usage (5.1 kg per person per day), since Sri Lanka is predominantly a service-based country with limited plastic-based manufacturing industries. The source data for plastic usage has been derived from a very limited study, biased toward waste hotspots that have not been verified. Our empirical data has shown that population density, one of the key parameters used for global ranking, is a weak predictor of debris densities. Therefore, we argue that the given plastic leakage data and the ranking is an error. Therefore, Sri Lanka’s position in the global ranking deserves reconsideration. Further, we propose the need for model predictions that rely on global metadata to be backed by robust and unbiased designed surveys that are based on empirical data and undergo intense baseline data verification to generate more precise predictions on litter quantities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Estimating Plastic Leakage into the Environment)

24 pages, 1616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Public Perceptions of Legislative Action to Reduce Plastic Pollution: A Case Study of Atlantic Canada

by Shen Molloy, Andrew S. Medeiros, Tony R. Walker and Sarah J. Saunders

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1852; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031852 - 06 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5347

Abstract

Government-led legislation is a key strategy to reduce plastic pollution; however, societal perception can heavily influence government intervention for environmental issues. To understand the public acceptability of government action to reduce plastic pollution, we examine the perception of existing and upcoming legislative action on single-use plastics (SUPs) by means of a structured survey with additional semi-structured interviews. Our focus is on the four Atlantic provinces of Canada, which was the first region in Canada to implement provincial-wide legislation for plastic reduction at the consumer level in 2019. Results show strong public support (77%, n = 838) for bans of SUP bags at the consumer level, and for further plastic pollution reduction legislation. However, the level of support differed between regions and by demographics. Semi-structured interviews show that decision makers should increase efforts in raising consumer awareness and standardizing regulations across jurisdictions for smoother transitions prior to legislative action. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Estimating Plastic Leakage into the Environment)

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15 pages, 4662 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rapid-Survey Methodology to Assess Litter Volumes along Large River Systems—A Case Study of the Tamsui River in Taiwan

by Falk Schneider, Alexander Kunz, Chieh-Shen Hu, Ning Yen and Hsin-Tien Lin

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8765; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168765 - 05 Aug 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3812

Abstract

Riverbanks are an important source of plastic pollution. However, the current assessment methods for riverbank litter are based on a point-based sampling which is time consuming and limited in scope. To quickly assess hotspot areas and litter compositions in larger areas, this study developed a new citizen science bicycle survey for riverine debris. Covering 281.5 km of the Tamsui river system in Taiwan, the new methodology was tested at one of the most plastics polluted rivers in the world. The results revealed an average litter density of 15.3 m³/km at the river mouth and of 0.2 m³/km to 2.8 m³/km along the riverbanks further upstream. The coastline was mainly polluted by derelict fishing gear whereas single-use plastics and illegally dumped waste dominated the upstream areas. A correlation between litter and population density could not be identified, but it was noted that litter hotspots occur at cut banks and near mangrove vegetation. Overall, the new methodology proved suitable to collect large quantities of data for scientific purposes and to quickly detect litter accumulations prior to clean-up activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Estimating Plastic Leakage into the Environment)

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Review

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16 pages, 1714 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

The Critical Importance of Adopting Whole-of-Life Strategies for Polymers and Plastics

by Graeme Moad and David Henry Solomon

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8218; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158218 - 23 Jul 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3657

Abstract

Plastics have been revolutionary in numerous sectors, and many of the positive attributes of modern life can be attributed to their use. However, plastics are often treated only as disposable commodities, which has led to the ever-increasing accumulation of plastic and plastic by-products in the environment as waste, and an unacceptable growth of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution. The catchphrase “plastics are everywhere”, perhaps once seen as extolling the virtues of plastics, is now seen by most as a potential or actual threat. Scientists are confronting this environmental crisis, both by developing recycling methods to deal with the legacy of plastic waste, and by highlighting the need to develop and implement effective whole-of-life strategies in the future use of plastic materials. The importance and topicality of this subject are evidenced by the dramatic increase in the use of terms such as “whole of life”, “life-cycle assessment”, “circular economy” and “sustainable polymers” in the scientific and broader literature. Effective solutions, however, are still to be forthcoming. In this review, we assess the potential for implementing whole-of-life strategies for plastics to achieve our vision of a circular economy. In this context, we consider the ways in which given plastics might be recycled into the same plastic for potential use in the same application, with minimal material loss, the lowest energy cost, and the least potential for polluting the environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Estimating Plastic Leakage into the Environment)

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