Tackling Plastic Blindness: How Citizen Science Interventions Can Help
(A2025-124082)

AUTHORS

Marta Nieto García, Universidad de Salamanca; Kate Whitman, University of Portsmouth; Cressida Bowyer, University of Portsmouth; Steve Fletcher, University of Portsmouth

ABSTRACT

Citizen science campaigns represent real-world interventions to tackle societal issues. This paper focuses on “The Big Plastic Count," a citizen science campaign with UK households, to investigate plastic consumption patterns. An attitudes survey (N = 8,130), and a natural experiment on petition signatures complement the analysis. We find that soft plastics are the most common waste. More importantly, citizens underestimated their plastic use, a phenomenon we term "plastic blindness," especially in grocery deliveries. Making plastic use salient for citizens heightened concern about plastic waste and increased support for reuse/refill systems, a desirable complement to recycling. The campaign also spurred a rise in petition signatures urging the UK government to advocate for stronger global policies at the Global Plastics Treaty. These findings suggest policymakers should recognize recycling's limits, foster reuse/refill innovations, and support global regulations on plastic production.