Public preferences for marine plastic litter management across Europe

Salma Khedr; Katrin Rehdanz; Roy Brouwer; Pieter van Beukering; Hanna Dijkstra; Sem Duijndam; Ikechukwu C Okoli

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107609

Public preferences for marine plastic litter management across Europe

Ecol Econ. 2023 Feb;204(Pt A):107609. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107609.

Authors

Salma Khedr¹, Katrin Rehdanz¹, Roy Brouwer^{2

3}, Pieter van Beukering³, Hanna Dijkstra³, Sem Duijndam³, Ikechukwu C Okoli¹

Affiliations

¹ Kiel University, Department of Economics, Wilhelm-Seelig-Platz 1, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
² Department of Economics and the Water Institute, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
³ Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1111, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Abstract

Plastic pollution is one of the most challenging problems affecting the marine environment of our time. Based on a unique dataset covering four European seas and eight European countries, this paper adds to the limited empirical evidence base related to the societal welfare effects of marine litter management. We use a discrete choice experiment to elicit public willingness-to-pay (WTP) for macro and micro plastic removal to achieve Good Environmental Status across European seas as required by the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Using a common valuation design and following best-practice guidelines, we draw comparisons between countries, seas and policy contexts. European citizens have strong preferences to improve the environmental status of the marine environment by removing and reducing both micro and macro plastic litter and implementing preventive measures favouring a pan-European approach. However, public WTP estimates differ significantly across European countries and seas. We explain why and discuss implications for policymaking.

Keywords: Choice experiment; Good environmental status; Macro plastic; Marine litter; Marine strategy framework directive; Micro plastic; Plastic litter.