I delivered this presentation to a small group from Age UK as part of the University of Bath Students Union volunteering team. This presentation outlined the motivation and aim of my PhD thesis as of the first semester

1. Research Objects
Peter King
PhD Candidate.
Department of Economics
University of Bath

2. Background to the research
• Masters thesis undertook a cost
benefit analysis of a scheme to
recover plastic from the ocean.
• Justification:
• More than 200,000 microplastics per
square kilometre of the ocean’s
surface.
• Findings:
• Economically, but not financially,
viable to recover marine plastics

3. Background to the research

4. Plastic industry
Advisory Committee on Packaging Task Force 2 – PRN Transparency PRN
System Guide
• Identified four problems:
• 1) Firms have no
incentive to make
more-recyclable
products.
• 2) Households have no
incentive to separate
waste.
• 3) Exporting of waste
more attractive than
dealing with it
domestically.
• 4) Low demand for
recycled material.

5. • Aim to survey consumers of plastic to see
which measures would help them use less
plastic.
• Specifically:
• Evaluating how environmentally-friendly
behaviours influence consumers willingness to
pay to reduce marine plastics.
• For best results; use specific techniques:
• Certainty statements:
• “How certain are you about this valuation?”
• Banded payment scales:
• “£0 -Would not be willing to accept any price
increases or Price + (£0-1)”
• ‘Cheap-talk’ treatment to mitigate
hypothetical bias
Methods

6. Survey
• Stakeholder feedback is
crucial to effective design
• Specifically the valuations
section:
• What is the maximum you would be willing to
pay to reduce marine plastics?
• What tax value per household per year would
you be willing to accept if it funded the recovery
of marine plastics?
• And how certain are you about this choice?
• If one good had an ARF worth 1% of its price, and
another had an ARF worth 5% of its price, how
likely would you be to switch goods to the lower
cost one?

7. Survey
• Also planning to include a section on
pro-environmental beliefs:
• "Human knowledge and ability will find a way around a
depletion of natural resources“
• "If things continue on their present course, we will soon
experience a major ecological catastrophe.“
• "Given increasing environmental problems with solid waste, I
feel a moral obligation to recycle“
• "Recycling won’t make much difference in the quality of the
environment“
• "Recycling conserves natural resources“
• "Firms have a responsibility to make their products more
environmentally friendly“
• To what extent would you rather manufacturers use more
recyclable packaging, or use less packaging overall?
• Have you seen the 'Blue-Planet' TV series?

8. • The plastic industry is changing:
• Moving towards ‘lightweighting’ of packaging
• Moving towards more biodegradable packaging
• However, whether collections and recycling firms are changing too is unclear
• Questions for the audience:
• WouldYOU, be willing to pay, via taxes or crowdfunding, a firm to recover marine plastics?
• Who has the responsibility for environmental pollution?
• What policies would you want to see introduced?
• And finally, do you have any questions about research?
• Scientific research, particularly in the social sciences, welcomes your input!
• Surveys, focus groups and interviews are all highly dependent on participant involvement.
Conclusions

9. Next steps:
• My research:
• Bit.ly/PeterKing
• With thanks to:
• University of Bath Public
Engagement Unit
• University of Bath Department of
Development and Alumni Relations
• How to get involved:
• Follow research institutions
and groups
• Engage with surveys and
interviews
• Consider what changes you
can make that could add up
on a bigger scale.