Investigating the knowledge and attitude of the Greek public towards marine plastic pollution and the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive

Highlights: • According to the participants, plastic pollution is a major environmental problem of our times. • The participants expressed positive attitudes towards the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive. • The vast majority of the Greek public is not informed about the Single-Use Plastic items that will be banned. • The participants are informed about the impact and the sources of marine plastic pollution. • There is a significant lack of knowledge towards microplastics. This study investigates the knowledge and attitudes of the Greek public towards marine plastic pollution and the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive by interpreting the results of a questionnaire. In Greece, the issue of marine plastic pollution has been highlighted by scientists. Public consultation processes about the implementation of the Directive into the national law have been also carried out. However, the results of our study showed that participants were not informed about the issue of marine plastic pollution nor the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive. Nevertheless, they expressed positive attitudes towards it including their willingness to pay and act in order to reduce their plastic waste. Thereby, it is recommended that more initiatives should support the publicity of the Directive so that the Greek public would be able to participating in the decision-making process and support its implementation. In addition, the current study suggests that the topic of microplastics should be integrated into the context of formal education.