Public awareness, knowledge, attitude and perception on microplastics pollution around Lagos lagoon

Abstract

Microplastic pollution is now globally flagged as a foremost menace to livelihoods, biodiversity, and public health due the pervasive nature of plastic wastes, poor knowledge of its ecological impact and poor attitude towards sustainable waste management practices. Hence, this paper explores public awareness, knowledge, attitude and perception on Microplastic pollution and its ecological health implication through a survey data collected from residents, students, fishermen and local tourist around Lagos Lagoon, a significant area in Lagos. This study relied on psychometric model of inquiry (through indirect questions} were employed to extrapolate the study’s unbridle goal. Data were collected, coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics on the IBM SPSS 28 version. Findings revealed that though awareness on microplastics was apparently high (over 50%), however, public knowledge was fairly acceptable and poor perception of Microplastic pollution was observed. Respondents (with a mean attitude score of 3.40±1.485) generally shows a good attitude towards learning more on this subject and a shared commitment to support government through cleanup volunteering and advocacy. This study succinctly observed that a good number of respondents that were aware about microplastics and its associated risks had the knowledge through social media campaigns, followed by internet sources. In light of this findings, this study recommends that government, academia and relevant stakeholders should intensify efforts to educate the public more on sources, contamination, fate and effects of microplastics and other issues of public health importance through massive campaigns, learned community activities and strategies that may reinforce positive environmental attitude

Keywords

• microplastic pollution
• public perception
• environmental education
• lagos lagoon