The evolving global plastics policy landscape: An inventory and effectiveness review

Diana, Zoie; Vegh, Tibor; Karasik, Rachel; Bering, Janet; Caldas, Juan D. Llano; Pickle, Amy; Rittschof, Daniel; Lau, Winnie W. Y.; Virdin, John

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2022.03.028

Cited by 44 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Incentivize alternatives. Policies that tax plastic products nudge consumer behavior to avoid plastics rather than to reflect its' social cost (Rivers et al, 2017;Mogomotsi et al, 2019;Diana et al, 2022). Because determining plastics' social cost is difficult, plastic should be priced at an estimate of the price necessary to meet plastics reduction targets by making alternatives more cost-effective (Monast and Virdin, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A transdisciplinary approach to reducing global plastic pollution

Diana

Karasik²,

Merrill³

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A transdisciplinary approach to reducing global plastic pollution

Diana

Karasik²,

Merrill³

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…This study draws on previous research conducted by Diana et al (2022) and Karasik et al (2020) mapping the global regulatory landscape of plastic policies and nation-state approaches to governing plastic.…”

Section: Methodology and Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As with the methodological approach taken by Diana et al (2022) and Karasik et al (2020) in their study on the global plastics policy inventory and effectiveness review 6 , we started this research process with the compilation of original Chinese public policy documents, defined here as official documents that include publicfacing laws, statutes, ordinances, and management plans written and adopted by government entities, demonstrating an intent to reduce plastic pollution at various stages of the life cycle of plastics. We did not include other government documents such as judicial interpretation, monitoring reports, typical cases of trials 7 , replies to administrative permit applications 8 , or research papers.…”

Section: The Construction Of a Noncomprehensive Inventory Of Chinese ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 In order to build the Inventory, we confined the search for documents to be included based on a list of keywords. As a complementary to the work undertaken by Karasik et al (2020) and Diana et al (2022) on the global plastic policy landscape, we used a new set of keywords as used by these scholars in their relevant scholarly work. For the purpose of this study, we added four new keywords in the search including plasticizer, polyethylene terephthalate 10 , polyester, and fiber, as shown in Table 1.…”

Section: The Construction Of a Noncomprehensive Inventory Of Chinese ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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China’s regulatory respond to plastic pollution: Trends and trajectories

Fürst

Feng²

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Despite China having an international reputation as one of the largest contributors to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, research analyzing China’s regulatory approach to governing plastic has been limited and fragmented, and as such, little is known about trends and trajectories dominating China’s plastic policy landscape. In this paper, we seek to address this gap in the literature through the construction and analysis of a complete inventory of China plastic-related policies from 1 January 2000 to 30 June 2021. Utilizing NVIVO (a qualitative analysis software), our analysis of 231 Chinese plastic policy documents shows that China’s serious and concentrated effort to governing plastics really took off in the year 2016. From 2016, China saw a rapid increase in the attention paid to plastic pollution in the regulatory realm. In 2000, there were only four plastic-pertinent policies, but by the first half of 2021, this number has grown to 41, representing an increase of 925%. In this period, China has also significantly transformed its approach to governing plastics; not only has the goal and purpose of regulating plastic increased in complexity, but the type of plastics targeted and the different aspects of the plastic value chain included in various policies have become increasingly comprehensive over time. Concurrently, the deployment of different types of regulatory instruments utilized for the purpose of governing plastics in China has become much more diversified, with a major focus on prohibitive bans and information campaigns currently dominating Chinese plastic policy instruments. Economic policy instruments, on the other hand, especially economic incentives, have only recently been gaining popularity. Finally, today, most government agencies have published policies that are relevant to the regulation of plastic pollution control and prevention in China. Despite the massive increase in plastic pertinent policies in China, the predominant focus is still on back-end policy, with little regulatory attention on the upstream part of the plastic lifecycle (i.e., prodigious production of plastics). China’s fairly recent plastic policy awakening should be understood in light of China’s focus on the circular economy, the county’s ramping up of regulatory focus, and fiscal investment in solid waste management and pertinent infrastructure. Towards the end of the paper, we point to some possible trajectories for the China plastic policy landscape, highlighting the synergies between reducing plastic production, consumption, and waste treatment and China’s carbon neutrality ambition, as well as predicting a stronger policy focus and emphasis on plastic cleanup efforts.

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“…Following taxes on singleuse bags in Chicago, Illinois (Homonoff et al, 2018) and Montgomery County, Maryland (Homonoff, 2018), fewer customers used single-use bags, more customers used reusable bags or no bag at all, and customers who still used disposable bags used fewer. Diana et al (2022) found that bans and fees reduced plastic bag consumption by an average of 66% across 27 jurisdictions all over the world. These reductions have translated into less bag waste and fewer bags littered in the environment (Schnurr et al, 2018).…”

Section: Reduce Waste At the Sourcementioning

confidence: 99%

A framework for inland cities to prevent marine debris: A case study from Durham, North Carolina

Lauer

Nowlin

2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Land-based sources of litter are increasingly recognized as significant contributors to marine debris, and rivers can carry debris to the coast from far-inland sources. In this paper, we demonstrate the important role inland cities can play in the marine debris crisis by reducing their own marine debris contributions. Given this role, we provide a framework for inland cities to prevent plastic pollution along with the lessons learned from introducing these strategies in Durham, North Carolina, a mid-sized, inland city that drains to the ocean through the Cape Fear and Neuse River watersheds. This framework guides city officials, resource managers, and community partners on how to characterize the plastic pollution problem in their city by collecting baseline data on plastic waste and litter. This framework also provides practical and equitable solutions for inland cities to address plastic pollution. We recommend that inland cities prioritize policy solutions that reduce waste at the source – to the extent that their state constitutions allow – and to also use authorities for stormwater controls to capture and remove debris as long as litter persists. Replicating this framework in other inland cities opens vast opportunities to manage and reduce marine debris from an often-overlooked source.

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The evolving global plastics policy landscape: An inventory and effectiveness review

Cited by 44 publications

References 56 publications

A transdisciplinary approach to reducing global plastic pollution

A transdisciplinary approach to reducing global plastic pollution

China’s regulatory respond to plastic pollution: Trends and trajectories

A framework for inland cities to prevent marine debris: A case study from Durham, North Carolina

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