Microplastics in personal care products: Exploring public intention of usage by extending the theory of planned behaviour.

Microplastics, artificial plastic particles with a particle size of <5 mm, have attracted considerable attention due to their potential negative impacts on the social economy, ecological environment, and human health. An important direct source of microplastics (i.e., microbeads in cosmetics) is scrub particles from personal care products, such as cosmetics and toothpaste. Therefore, it is necessary to understand consumers' perceptions and behaviours regarding these products, which can help reduce the emission of microplastics at the source. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively analyse the impact factors and interaction mechanisms of the public behavioural intention of reducing the use of personal care and cosmetic products containing microplastics through the expanded theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model. We conducted random face-to-face interviews with 496 respondents in Shanghai, China. The results show that (1) attitude has the most powerful positive influence on behavioural intention, followed by perceived behavioural control and environmental concern, whereas there is no significant direct influence of subjective norms, environmental education, and behavioural experience; (2) subjective norms have an indirect influence on behavioural intention through attitude and perceived behavioural control; and (3) environmental education and behavioural experience both have an indirect impact on behavioural intention through attitude. Practical and effective policy implications are proposed for the government to reduce microplastic pollution based on the results of this article.

Mapping multiple water pollutants across China using the grey water footprint.

The primary pollutants and pollution levels of surface water present spatial and temporal changes. This study quantified the grey water footprint (GWF) and surface water pollution level (WPL) in China from 2003 to 2018 based on four pollutants: chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). Additionally, the spatiotemporal distribution of the primary water pollutant (PWP) and driving forces of the GWF were analyzed based on the WPLs and the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) decomposition method. The results showed that the GWF in China decreased by 13% from 2003 to 2018 and the WPL decreased from 1.11 in 2003 to 0.94 in 2018. An analysis of regional GWFs with multiple pollutants could prevent the underestimation of GWFs and WPLs caused by changes in the PWPs. The GWF spatial distribution was high in the southeast and low in the northwest, while the provinces with larger WPLs were mainly concentrated in northern China. The PWP changed from COD to TN in 2007 because of the increase in nitrogen application in China, the low TN reduction capacity of wastewater treatment plants and the improved comprehensive utilization rate of livestock and poultry manure. The driving force analysis results showed that water efficiency and technological and industrial structural effects promoted the reduced GWF. Our research conclusions and policy suggestions could provide references for reducing the GWF and improving the water quality in China.