Department Environmental Social Sciences

Picture by 5Gyres, courtesy of Oregon State University

This project aims to contribute to the scarce literature on micro- and nanoplastics in the social and behavioral sciences. Research on society’s knowledge, awareness and risk perception of micro- and nanoplastics is limited and, as a result, there are major gaps in our understanding how people perceive micro- and nanoplastics or whether they are concerned about microplastics, especially in environmental compartments other than marine (SAPEA, 2019). Our project aims at closing some of these research gaps by examining public awareness, risk perception, and concern about micro- and nanoplastic pollution. The focus of this project is on the freshwater compartment in Switzerland. The main objectives of this project are to (1) get an insight into public awareness and risk perception of micro- and nanoplastic pollution of Swiss water bodies and (2) to elicit preferences and willingness to pay of the Swiss population for reducing micro- and nanoplastic freshwater pollution. To this end, we apply a discrete choice experiment method as part of a broader survey, which has been conducted among a representative sample of the Swiss population. From the methodological point of view, we examine whether anchoring to the price levels shown in the choice experiment exists and develop choice modelling approaches aiming to reduce this bias.

Reference

SAPEA, Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (2019). A scientific perspective on microplastics in nature and society. SAPEA, Berlin, http://doi.org/10.26356/microplastics.