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The Wicked Problem of Plastics and the Discourse Surrounding its Governance

塑料的邪恶问题及其治理的讨论

基本信息

批准号：
AH/T008423/1
负责人：
Rosalind Malcolm
金额：
$ 6.9万
依托单位：
University of Surrey
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2020
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2020 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FT008423%2F1
关键词：
Wicked Problem Plastics Discourse Surrounding

项目摘要

This research network will look at the discourses about the problem of pollution from solid waste plastic materials - especially those with a short service life - and how these narratives translate into regulation, other governance initiatives and voluntary approaches - in other words, action. It will look at the way in which the story about plastics waste is told and how that leads to policy and regulation. Despite the popular call towards a 'no-plastics' future, a world without plastics is unimaginable. The challenge is to deal with the escape of waste plastics in a way which does not allow waste to escape into the environment but enhances a circular economy in plastics - a closed-loop system where end-of-service-life plastic objects become a resource and thus reduce waste plastics to as near zero as possible. The use of plastics since their rise in popularity over the past 50-60 years has now presented the world with what can only be described as a 'Wicked Problem' - a problem combining technical and social complexity where traditional solutions do not work and which are not solvable by any single discipline. Take, for example, the problem of wet wipes which are the cause of 93% of sewage blockages. A simple regulatory solution would be to ban them as in the recent UK ban on micro-plastic beads in cosmetics. But this would lose a valuable and useful commodity as shown by the example of bans on plastic bags which have been implemented in a number of African and other developing countries. Seeking a multidisciplinary solution which combines technical solutions, such as using a different material with all the properties of current wet wipes, driven by regulatory sanctions and changes in consumer behaviour can achieve a long-lasting result which has environmental advantages as well as societal gains. It is only through a truly multidisciplinary approach that a 'zero' plastic waste solution can be approached. It is the case that some reactions to the problem of single-use plastics and the way they affect the environment as graphically displayed, for example, in the BBC series, Blue Planet II, have been to ban plastics and to replace them by other materials which may also be abandoned once used and may be just as harmful to the environment in the long term. So why are some countries seeking solutions which miss the heart of the problem? The danger from such a reactive approach is to transfer the problems caused by our consumption and production patterns down the line while thinking that the problem of waste in the environment has been solved. Bans on the importation of certain plastics waste by DAC-listed countries may control the problem in the interim but not solve it for the future. Yet, at the same time, the public awareness escalated by such imagery on the media is good in that it raises the attention of policymakers and legislators to the need to find solutions. What is a problem about it is that it may cause such groups of regulators to take quick and easy steps which appear to solve this wicked problem. So this project intends to investigate the way in which the message about plastics pollution is being delivered around the world, especially in DAC-listed countries where particular problems arise from importation of plastics waste from high consuming countries, and how that translates into regulatory and governance action so that lessons can be learned as to how to deal effectively with such wicked problems as plastics waste. The network will share knowledge and experiences on the analysis of the way in which the message about plastics waste is developed and delivered so as to contribute to the long-term solution of this wicked problem.

该研究网络将研究有关固体废弃塑料材料污染问题的讨论-特别是那些使用寿命短的材料-以及这些叙述如何转化为监管，其他治理举措和自愿方法-换句话说，行动。它将着眼于塑料废物的故事是如何讲述的，以及如何导致政策和监管。尽管人们普遍呼吁“无塑料”的未来，但没有塑料的世界是不可想象的。挑战在于以一种不允许废物逃逸到环境中但增强塑料循环经济的方式处理废塑料的逃逸-一个闭环系统，其中使用寿命结束的塑料物体成为资源，从而将废塑料减少到尽可能接近零。塑料在过去50-60年里越来越受欢迎，现在已经向世界提出了一个只能被描述为“邪恶问题”的问题-一个结合了技术和社会复杂性的问题，传统的解决方案不起作用，任何单一学科都无法解决。以湿巾问题为例，93%的污水堵塞都是由湿巾造成的。一个简单的监管解决方案是禁止它们，就像最近英国禁止化妆品中的微塑料珠一样。但是，这将失去一种有价值和有用的商品，正如一些非洲和其他发展中国家禁止使用塑料袋的例子所表明的那样。寻求一种多学科的解决方案，结合技术解决方案，如使用不同的材料与现有湿巾的所有性能，由监管制裁和消费者行为的变化驱动，可以实现具有环境优势和社会效益的长期结果。只有通过真正的多学科方法，才能实现“零”塑料废物解决方案。例如，在英国广播公司的系列节目《蓝色星球II》中，对一次性塑料问题及其对环境的影响方式的一些反应是禁止使用塑料，并以其他材料取代塑料，这些材料一旦使用也可能被废弃，从长远来看可能对环境同样有害。那么，为什么有些国家寻求的解决方案没有抓住问题的核心呢？这种被动应对的做法的危险是将我们的消费和生产模式所造成的问题转移到下游，同时认为环境中的废物问题已经得到解决。禁止DAC名单上的国家进口某些塑料废物可能会在过渡期间控制问题，但不能解决未来的问题。然而，与此同时，媒体上的这种形象提高了公众的认识，这是好的，因为它提高了决策者和立法者对寻找解决办法的必要性的注意。它的一个问题是，它可能会导致这些监管机构采取快速和简单的步骤，似乎解决这个邪恶的问题。因此，该项目旨在调查有关塑料污染的信息在世界各地传递的方式，特别是在DAC列出的国家，这些国家因从高消费国家进口塑料废物而出现特殊问题，以及如何将其转化为监管和治理行动，以便吸取教训，如何有效地处理塑料废物等恶劣问题。该网络将分享有关塑料废物信息的开发和传递方式的分析知识和经验，以促进这一邪恶问题的长期解决方案。