scholarly journals Reducing plastic waste by visualizing marine consequences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Luo ◽  
Jeremy Douglas ◽  
Sabine Pahl ◽  
Jiaying Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Control Trial ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Marine Animal ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
High Rise ◽  
Randomized Control

Plastic pollution has become a major global conservation challenge. To reduce the generation of plastic waste, we designed and tested several behavioral interventions in a randomized control trial to reduce plastic waste in a high-rise office building. We randomly assigned eight floors in the building to four conditions: (1) simplified recycling signage, (2) signage with a marine animal trapped in plastic debris, (3) signage with a pledge that invited people to be plastic wise to protect ocean life, and (4) control. We found that the signage with the animal reduced plastic waste by 17%, the largest effect among the other conditions. After implementing the signage to the entire building, we found an overall reduction in plastic waste over six weeks. The current study demonstrates the effectiveness of visualizing marine consequences of plastic waste and provides a new behavioral solution connecting disposal actions and the downstream consequences for plastic waste reduction.

scholarly journals Beverage bottle capacity, packaging efficiency, and the potential for plastic waste reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Becerril-Arreola ◽  
R. E. Bucklin
Keyword(s):  
Product Category ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Pet Waste ◽  
Pet Bottles ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Packaging Efficiency ◽  
The U.S

AbstractPlastic pollution is a pressing issue because authorities struggle to contain and process the enormous amount of waste produced. We study the potential for reducing plastic waste by examining the efficiency with which different polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles deliver beverages. We find that 80% of the variation in bottle weight is explained by bottle capacity, 16% by product category, and 1% by brand. Bottle weight is quadratic and convex function of capacity, which implies that medium capacity bottles are most efficient at delivering consumable product. Local data on PET bottle sales and municipal waste recovery validate the findings. A 20% shift in consumption from smaller to larger bottles could reduce the production of PET waste by over 10,000 t annually in the U.S. alone.

scholarly journals A Brief Review on Plastic Pollution and Roads Towards its Reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandita Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Insulin Pens

Plastic, owing to its excellent strength to weight ratio, durability, low cost, low maintenance and corrosion free characteristics, has found a wide range of applications, in packaging, shopping/garbage bags, bottles for mineral water and juices, clothing, toys, household items and building materials. It has revolutionized the health care industry with the development of medical tools and devices including disposable items like surgical gloves, syringes, insulin pens, blood bags, catheters etc. to prevent spreading of infectious diseases. Especially during COVID-19 pandemic, the use of products like PPE kit, face masks has been increased significantly. Despite these excellent properties, plastic has become a major cause of pollution due to its non-biodegradability and toxic effects. Globally, more than 350 million tonnes (Mt) of plastic waste is generated annually, about 79% of which goes into landfill, only 9% is recycled and rest 12% is incerinated. Incineration of plastic waste releases toxic gases like polychlorinated biphenyls (BCPs), furans and dioxins into the atmosphere that poses a serious threat to environment affecting vegetation and marine ecosystem, in addition to human health. This review briefly covers various kinds of plastics and their applications in various sectors. The next section describes their potential hazards on the ecosystem and on human health. It also deliberates various methods for plastic waste reduction including recycling that enables a circular approach towards sustainable plastic waste management. The regulations and their implementation to reduce plastic waste are also discussed with special reference to India including extended producer responsibility for the plastic producers.

scholarly journals Can Genetics Predict Response to Complex Behavioral Interventions? Evidence from a Genetic Analysis of the Fast Track Randomized Control Trial

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin Albert ◽  
Daniel W. Belsky ◽  
D. Max Crowley ◽  
Shawn J. Latendresse ◽  
Fazil Aliev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Randomized Control Trial ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Fast Track ◽  
Randomized Control

Predicted growth in plastic waste exceeds efforts to mitigate plastic pollution

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 369 (6510) ◽  
pp. 1515-1518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie B. Borrelle ◽  
Jeremy Ringma ◽  
Kara Lavender Law ◽  
Cole C. Monnahan ◽  
Laurent Lebreton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategies ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystem ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Environmental Recovery ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

Plastic pollution is a planetary threat, affecting nearly every marine and freshwater ecosystem globally. In response, multilevel mitigation strategies are being adopted but with a lack of quantitative assessment of how such strategies reduce plastic emissions. We assessed the impact of three broad management strategies, plastic waste reduction, waste management, and environmental recovery, at different levels of effort to estimate plastic emissions to 2030 for 173 countries. We estimate that 19 to 23 million metric tons, or 11%, of plastic waste generated globally in 2016 entered aquatic ecosystems. Considering the ambitious commitments currently set by governments, annual emissions may reach up to 53 million metric tons per year by 2030. To reduce emissions to a level well below this prediction, extraordinary efforts to transform the global plastics economy are needed.

Marine plastic pollution: using community science to address a global problem

2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul. E. Duckett ◽  
Vincenzo Repaci
Keyword(s):  
Local Population ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Storm Water ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Plastic Debris ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
Community Science

It was once thought oceans were so vast they could not be affected by humans, but unfortunately rapid globalisation now threatens marine biodiversity. The negative effects of marine debris were recognised in the 1970s, and more recently globally acknowledged in scientific literature. We revisited the Greater Sydney region in New South Wales Australia, to research whether plastic waste on coastal beaches has reduced in recent years. This was achieved by designing a community science project in collaboration with local schools and volunteers. We discovered that plastic debris differed between beaches and strata, but was similar to Australian beaches that were sampled over a decade ago. The high correlations we found between plastic debris and both the frequency of storm-water drains and local population sizes suggested that storm-water drains may be responsible for delivering plastic waste to coastal ecosystems, and the amount of plastic debris was proportional to the size of the surrounding population. Involving local communities has the potential to rapidly raise awareness about key conservation issues to large and broad demographic audiences. Ultimately, this may inspire public and political change.

A randomized control trial of supplementary prenatal care: Implications for family practice

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Tough ◽  
D. Johnston ◽  
J. Siever ◽  
G. Jorgenson ◽  
L. Slocombe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prenatal Care ◽  
Family Practice ◽  
Randomized Control Trial ◽  
Randomized Control
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