Marine plastic litter: public perceptions and opinions in Italy

Highlights: • The study investigates public perception and opinions about MPL sources and impacts. • A hierarchical segmentation analysis of a sample of 605 Italians was implemented. • A high level of awareness and concern emerged among participants in the sample. • Four clusters reveal the heterogeneity of people' profiles • Gender, education and living areas significantly affect respondents' perceptions. Understanding public perceptions, opinions and knowledge about marine plastic litter issue is a critical step in effectively engaging society and changing human behaviour in order to reduce litter inputs. The study performs a segmentation analysis that jointly considers opinions about sources and impacts of a sample of 605 Italians with a twofold objective: i. to identify homogeneous segments of people according to the importance they attach to different sources and impacts of plastic litter; ii. to understand if behavioural aspects and personal characteristics emerged for each cluster of people. Gender, education and living areas significantly affect respondents' opinions, knowledge and behaviour. A high level of awareness and concern emerged. Four clusters– "the silent majority", "the least concerned and involved", "the little conscious of litter sources", and "the most severe and committed"-, reveal the heterogeneity of people's profiles. Policy implications in terms of knowledge, education and behaviour for reducing marine plastic pollution are discussed.