Ecocommunicability, citizenship, and discourses on plastic control in India

Pathak, Gauri; Nichter, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2021.04.027

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…To be taken seriously when 'studying up' (Nader 1972) and talking to scientists, policymakers, and industry executives, we had to familiarise ourselves with technical terms, the basic chemistry of synthetic polymers, and their lifecycle. Exploratory fieldwork among environmental activists, industry representatives, and consumers of plastic packaging helped us gauge public perceptions of the harms and affordances of plastics and the semantic fields associated with them; media analyses allowed us to understand representations of plastic pollution and plastic control (Pathak 2020a(Pathak , 2022aPathak and Nichter 2021).…”

Section: The Engaged Research Trajectorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating Crises of Scale in the Anthropocene

Pathak¹,

Nichter²

2023

Anthropology in Action

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In our contemporary era, anthropologists are increasingly tasked with studying crises of scale—that is, studying issues related to existential threats such as ecological degradation, inequality, and suffering amid landscapes of uncertainty. Such work takes an emotional toll that is rarely acknowledged in anthropological literature. In this article, using our work on plastics as a lens, we ask what anthropologists have to offer that is of real problem-solving value and how they can sustain their resilience during such engagement. We proffer a stance that we term ‘pragmatic melioration’, which focuses on harm reduction and problem solving (albeit imperfect) in the messiness of the here-and-now, and speak to how such a stance has helped us stay motivated despite reflexive distress.

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Section: The Engaged Research Trajectorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Navigating Crises of Scale in the Anthropocene

Pathak¹,

Nichter²

2023

Anthropology in Action

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“…The state of Sikkim first introduced a ban on single-use plastics in 1998, with other Indian states following suit. By 2022, all of India was set to prohibit the usage of single-use plastics. , We mention that the plastics industry was established in India during the 1950s, but it was not prioritized by the government until the 1970s (All India Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, 2019). In recent decades, however, the industry has become a significant contributor to the Indian economy, with a multiplier effect on various sectors (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, 2016).…”

Section: Plastics In Indian Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems of India: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Neelavannan,

Sen

2023

ACS Omega

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Microplastics (MPs)�i.e., plastic particles less than 5 mm in length�are becoming a growing environmental concern due to their potential ecotoxicological impacts on aquatic ecosystems. In India, MPs contamination is a significantly growing problem due to increased plastic production as well as its low rate of recycling. As a result, MPs research work in India has gained considerable attention in the last two decades. The objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing scientific literature on MPs in freshwater ecosystems (e.g., lakes and rivers) of India. A bibliographical search was used to conduct the literature review across a number of databases including ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate. We found that in comparison to the marine ecosystem the source, transport, and fate of MPs in freshwater ecosystems of India are still underexplored, and we found only 18 relevant papers. This review work reveals that there is no standard procedure for separating MPs from water and sediment samples, and as a result, comparing the results was a challenging task. The larger MPs (>500 μm) in water and sediments were identified most commonly using the attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique (ATR-FTIR), whereas smaller-sized MPs (<500 μm) were identified using FTIR fitted with a confocal microscope, also known as μ-FTIR imaging or chemical imaging. We found that white-colored fibers and fragments of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyethylene (PE) were the most common polymer types in the freshwater ecosystems of India. Although research on MPs in freshwater ecosystems of India has gained momentum over the past decade, the literature review reveals a limited understanding of the impact of MPs' weathering patterns, the role of biofouling, and the role of water hyacinths on freshwater ecosystem services in India. Furthermore, the fluxes of MPs to the Indian oceans are not constrained, and atmospheric transport in high-altitude mountains, which have already been made fragile by climate change, has not been fully investigated. This study, therefore, calls for additional assessments of MPs in freshwater ecosystems�particularly in the central parts of India.

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“…in this view, the problem with plastics stems from the incorrect management of waste, and the blame is placed upon india's 'unruly citizens' (Pathak 2020a: 7). operating within these discourses, in 2014, narendra modi launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Clean india mission, a government policy to improve waste management infrastructure and eliminate open defecation (Pathak and nichter 2021). Connected to this campaign in 2018, modi promised to make india free of single-use plastics by 2022 (Pathak 2022).…”

Section: Using Plastics In Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Plastic Asia

Abrahms-Kavunenko

Brox

2022

cjas

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This introduction to the special issue of Plastic Asia emphasises the ambiguous and unsettling materiality of plastics. It describes how in Asian contexts, the relationships between plastics, purity and pollution are complex: simultaneously promising purity, quality and hygiene, yet frequently failing to fulfil these promises. It looks at how plastics, for some, have come to signify broader frustrations with modernity and the complexities of plastics when they are incorporated into ritual life.

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Ecocommunicability, citizenship, and discourses on plastic control in India

Cited by 17 publications

References 28 publications

Navigating Crises of Scale in the Anthropocene

Navigating Crises of Scale in the Anthropocene

Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems of India: Current Trends and Future Perspectives

Plastic Asia

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