The message on the bottle: Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use

Stephen D. Burrows; Francisca Ribeiro; Stacey O'Brien; Elvis Okoffo; Tania Toapanta; Nathan Charlton; Sarit Kaserzon; Chun Yin Lin; Cheng Tang; Cassandra Rauert; Xianyu Wang; Katja Shimko; Jake O'Brien; Piers A. Townsend; Matthew N. Grayson; Tamara Galloway; Kevin V. Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2022.02.015

The message on the bottle: Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use

Stephen D. Burrows
, Francisca Ribeiro
, Stacey O'Brien
, Elvis Okoffo
, Tania Toapanta
, Nathan Charlton
, Sarit Kaserzon
, Chun Yin Lin
, Cheng Tang
, Cassandra Rauert
, Xianyu Wang
, Katja Shimko
, Jake O'Brien
, Piers A. Townsend
, Matthew N. Grayson
, Tamara Galloway
, Kevin V. Thomas

University of Exeter
University of Queensland
University of Bath

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

32 Citations (SciVal)

281 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Plastic pollution continues to worsen globally in volume and complexity. The complexity in plastic production, use and disposal is significant, highlighting the importance of clear communication to consumers. Yet despite this, poor plastic labelling is clear, evident from poor waste management metrics even in the most equipped countries. Plastic labelling must change to contribute to a holistic intervention on global plastic mismanagement. Discussion on this topic leads to three key recommendations: 1. An accurate and clear “sustainability scale” to empower consumers to make decisions informed by environmental and human health implications; 2. Directions for appropriate disposal action in the region of purchase; 3. A comprehensive list of plastic composition, including additives.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	109-118
Number of pages	10
Journal	Environmental Science and Policy
Volume	132
Early online date	24 Feb 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.02.015
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Francisca Ribeiro and Stephen D. Burrows are funded by the QUEX Institute, a partnership between the University of Exeter (UK) and The University of Queensland (Australia). The Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences , The University of Queensland, gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Queensland Health, Australia. The Minderoo Centre – Plastics and Human health gratefully acknowledges the support of the Minderoo Foundation, Australia and their support of CR, NC and XW. TG acknowledges support from the Natural Environment Research Council , UK grant NE/S003975/1 .

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Additives
Communication
Labelling
Plastic
Recycling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Access to Document

10.1016/j.envsci.2022.02.015Licence: CC BY

1-s2.0-S1462901122000600-mainFinal published version, 5.47 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Burrows, S. D., Ribeiro, F., O'Brien, S., Okoffo, E., Toapanta, T., Charlton, N., Kaserzon, S., Lin, C. Y., Tang, C., Rauert, C., Wang, X., Shimko, K., O'Brien, J., Townsend, P. A., Grayson, M. N., Galloway, T., & Thomas, K. V. (2022). The message on the bottle: Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use. Environmental Science and Policy, 132, 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.02.015

Burrows, SD, Ribeiro, F, O'Brien, S, Okoffo, E, Toapanta, T, Charlton, N, Kaserzon, S, Lin, CY, Tang, C, Rauert, C, Wang, X, Shimko, K, O'Brien, J, Townsend, PA, Grayson, MN, Galloway, T & Thomas, KV 2022, 'The message on the bottle: Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use', Environmental Science and Policy, vol. 132, pp. 109-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.02.015

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abstract = "Plastic pollution continues to worsen globally in volume and complexity. The complexity in plastic production, use and disposal is significant, highlighting the importance of clear communication to consumers. Yet despite this, poor plastic labelling is clear, evident from poor waste management metrics even in the most equipped countries. Plastic labelling must change to contribute to a holistic intervention on global plastic mismanagement. Discussion on this topic leads to three key recommendations: 1. An accurate and clear {\textquotedblleft}sustainability scale{\textquotedblright} to empower consumers to make decisions informed by environmental and human health implications; 2. Directions for appropriate disposal action in the region of purchase; 3. A comprehensive list of plastic composition, including additives.",

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note = "Funding Information: Francisca Ribeiro and Stephen D. Burrows are funded by the QUEX Institute, a partnership between the University of Exeter (UK) and The University of Queensland (Australia). The Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences , The University of Queensland, gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Queensland Health, Australia. The Minderoo Centre {\textendash} Plastics and Human health gratefully acknowledges the support of the Minderoo Foundation, Australia and their support of CR, NC and XW. TG acknowledges support from the Natural Environment Research Council , UK grant NE/S003975/1 . ",

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AU - Toapanta, Tania

AU - Charlton, Nathan

AU - Kaserzon, Sarit

AU - Lin, Chun Yin

AU - Tang, Cheng

AU - Rauert, Cassandra

AU - Wang, Xianyu

AU - Shimko, Katja

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AU - Townsend, Piers A.

AU - Grayson, Matthew N.

AU - Galloway, Tamara

AU - Thomas, Kevin V.

N1 - Funding Information: Francisca Ribeiro and Stephen D. Burrows are funded by the QUEX Institute, a partnership between the University of Exeter (UK) and The University of Queensland (Australia). The Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences , The University of Queensland, gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Queensland Health, Australia. The Minderoo Centre – Plastics and Human health gratefully acknowledges the support of the Minderoo Foundation, Australia and their support of CR, NC and XW. TG acknowledges support from the Natural Environment Research Council , UK grant NE/S003975/1 .

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N2 - Plastic pollution continues to worsen globally in volume and complexity. The complexity in plastic production, use and disposal is significant, highlighting the importance of clear communication to consumers. Yet despite this, poor plastic labelling is clear, evident from poor waste management metrics even in the most equipped countries. Plastic labelling must change to contribute to a holistic intervention on global plastic mismanagement. Discussion on this topic leads to three key recommendations: 1. An accurate and clear “sustainability scale” to empower consumers to make decisions informed by environmental and human health implications; 2. Directions for appropriate disposal action in the region of purchase; 3. A comprehensive list of plastic composition, including additives.

AB - Plastic pollution continues to worsen globally in volume and complexity. The complexity in plastic production, use and disposal is significant, highlighting the importance of clear communication to consumers. Yet despite this, poor plastic labelling is clear, evident from poor waste management metrics even in the most equipped countries. Plastic labelling must change to contribute to a holistic intervention on global plastic mismanagement. Discussion on this topic leads to three key recommendations: 1. An accurate and clear “sustainability scale” to empower consumers to make decisions informed by environmental and human health implications; 2. Directions for appropriate disposal action in the region of purchase; 3. A comprehensive list of plastic composition, including additives.

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DO - 10.1016/j.envsci.2022.02.015

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SN - 1462-9011

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JO - Environmental Science and Policy

JF - Environmental Science and Policy

ER -

The message on the bottle: Rethinking plastic labelling to better encourage sustainable use

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this