Public attitudes towards bioplastics – knowledge, perception and end-of-life management

Dilkes-Hoffman, Leela; Ashworth, Peta; Laycock, Bronwyn; Pratt, Steven; Lant, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104479

Cited by 180 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…From this, it can be concluded that the student activity was successful in guiding students to reflect on all phases of the life cycle. In our opinion, this is a remarkable finding because earlier studies have revealed that the last recycling phase in particular is considered when thinking about life cycles (Steenis et al, 2017;Boesen et al, 2019;Dilkes-Hoffman et al, 2019). During the student activity, the students discovered that the easylooking question was more complex than they initially thought.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…There have been a number of studies that have studied citizens' perceptions on biotechnologies and bioplastics (Blesin and Jaspersen, 2017;Lynch et al, 2017;Steenis et al, 2017;Boesen et al, 2019;Dilkes-Hoffman et al, 2019). These researches revealed that citizens from different countries (Australia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands) were mostly positive about bioplastics.…”

Section: Citizens' Perceptions About the Sustainability Of (Bio)plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The difference between compostable and biodegradable was not clear. The study of Dilkes-Hoffman et al (2019) revealed that Australian citizens have doubts on whether the biodegradable plastics could have a negative impact on the environment. The work of Steenis et al (2017) showed that LCA outcomes might not always match citizens' perceptions of the sustainability of a product.…”

Section: Citizens' Perceptions About the Sustainability Of (Bio)plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

Waard

Prins

Joolingen

2020

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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Sustainability has become a prominent theme in society and can be considered as an integral part of scientific citizenship. This study investigates to what extent the production, use and re-use of (bio)plastics initiates students’ reasoning and to identify the kind of content knowledge students put forward. The structure of students’ arguments was mapped according to Toulmin's model of argumentation, i.e., claim, data, warrant & backing and qualifier & rebuttals. Students (N = 27, grade 10 & 11) participated in groups of three. The students were introduced to the topic of the production, use and re-use of plastics by watching a video, answering questions, reading articles and having interviews and group discussions. Students were prompted to argue on the sustainability of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics. The results show that students frequently used arguments related to preventing pollution, designing to recycle and designing to degrade. However, themes such as avoiding waste, origin of energy and materials, energy efficiency and costs were rarely used or even absent in students’ reasoning. Overall, the students’ reasoning contained all of Toulmin's categories, and especially the increase in the number of qualifier & rebuttals is interpreted as an indication of awareness of the complexity of the issue at hand. This study underlines that students are able to bring in relevant scientific knowledge when confronted with a suitable sustainability issue, but also more societally oriented arguments enriched their perspective. Implications for the design of interventions aiming to engage students in life cycle analysis (on plastics) are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Citizens' Perceptions About the Sustainability Of (Bio)plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Citizens' Perceptions About the Sustainability Of (Bio)plasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

Waard

Prins

Joolingen

2020

Chem. Educ. Res. Pract.

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“…Today's society has become aware of the need to eliminate its dependence on fossil resources. In this sense, the production of materials coming from renewable resources with properties similar to the current ones is becoming a necessity [1][2][3][4][5][6]. There are two main ways to develop greener plastic materials-bio-based and biodegradable or bio-based and recyclable materials [5,[7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biobased Composites from Biobased-Polyethylene and Barley Thermomechanical Fibers: Micromechanics of Composites

et al. 2019

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The cultivation of cereals like rye, barley, oats, or wheat generates large quantities of agroforestry residues, which reaches values of around 2066 million metric tons/year. Barley straw alone represents 53%. In this work, barley straw is recommended for the production of composite materials in order to add value to this agricultural waste. First of all, thermomechanical (TMP) fibers from barley straw are produced and later used to reinforce bio-polyethylene (BioPE) matrix. TMP barley fibers were chemically and morphologically characterized. Later, composites with optimal amounts of coupling agent and fiber content ranging from 15 to 45 wt % were prepared. The mechanical results showed the strengthening and stiffening capacity of the TMP barley fibers. Finally, a micromechanical analysis is applied to evaluate the quality of the interface and to distinguish how the interface and the fiber morphology contributes to the final properties of these composite materials.

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“…The major obstacle is that consumers may recycle bioplastics incorrectly. 3 There is suggestive evidence that consumers are ill-informed about the differences between conventional plastics and the various types of bioplastics (Sijtsema et al, 2016;Dilkes-Hoffman et al, 2019). As a result, consumers may make incorrect recycling decisions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No Clue About Bioplastics

Ansink¹,

Wijk

Zuidmeer

2019

SSRN Journal

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We analyze recycling decisions for bioplastics using a natural field experiment. The potential environmental benefits of these new plastics may not materialize if they are recycled incorrectly. The field experiment that we set up to test this recycling behavior exploits the setting of a lemonade tasting. In our experimental treatments, subjects are exposed to different types of bioplastics logos on their cups as well as varying amounts of recycling information. We use two types of bioplastics and compare these to conventional plastics in terms of whether subjects recycle the cups correctly. Our results show that over 90% of subjects dispose of their cup with plastic waste and that none of our treatments can snap subjects out of this default behavior. We interpret this finding as subjects having no clue how to recycle bioplastics. More generally, these results point to skepticism regarding new products or varieties whose environmental benefits depend on proper use or disposal.

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Public attitudes towards bioplastics – knowledge, perception and end-of-life management

Cited by 180 publications

References 25 publications

Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

Pre-university students’ perceptions about the life cycle of bioplastics and fossil-based plastics

Biobased Composites from Biobased-Polyethylene and Barley Thermomechanical Fibers: Micromechanics of Composites

No Clue About Bioplastics

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