Pro-environmental messaging that is framed to highlight positive health benefits increases interest in litter cleanup, according to a new study.
Litter and debris, much of it plastic, have significant environmental, human health, and economic impacts, according to research published in SAGE journals. One pro-environmental strategy to mitigate litter and debris is ensuring their proper disposal.
Jennifer Gay, co-author of the study and an associate professor in the University of Georgia College of Public Health, said conversations with colleagues about the environmental impacts of marine debris led to the study.
“I realized just how big of a problem marine
debris was,” Gay said. “And I thought, if we could increase the number of people who pick up litter, we might be able to do that if we promoted it as a form of walking, which is good for your health, instead of just as a pro-environmental behavior.”
Researchers surveyed adults living in coastal regions ranging from Georgia to California. Participants were asked to consider both personal barriers to volunteering for environmental cleanup efforts and possible positive outcomes of participation.
Gay said there were some limitations to the study.
“I think our primary limitation was that this study focused only on coastal counties in the U.S.,” Gay said. “There's nothing in the literature that would suggest that people on the coast think differently about these issues than people who are further inland, near rivers, lakes or even not in a blue space, but in forests or parks.”
Volunteers who pick up litter and debris play a crucial role in intercepting litter before it reaches the environment. Litter cleanup is commonly characterized as a pro-environmental behavior, experts say.
Gay said one of the main reasons the findings are important is that pro-environmental actions can also improve personal well-being.
“Our research does show that when people see benefits for their own health, they may be more motivated to act,” she said. “We also found that promoting environmental action through health benefits may reach people who wouldn’t respond to traditional physical activity interventions or traditional environmental messaging. We can approach the issue from both sides.”
The study notes that, in addition to its environmental impact, picking up litter typically involves walking on various surfaces, including roadsides, riverbanks and marshes, as well as bending, squatting, reaching and lifting, activities that promote functional fitness and provide the physiological benefits of physical activity.
“The relationship between human and environmental health is reciprocal,” she said. “And for our study in particular, in terms of litter cleanup, people want to be outside in aesthetically pleasing places. They don't want to be active outdoors or enjoy nature in places that have a lot of litter. So picking up that litter helps keep those spaces clean and encourages more people to spend time there.”
Gay said that, from a broader systems perspective, removing litter also benefits plant and animal life.
“Removing harmful materials from those environments can have downstream impacts on human health,” she said. “Again, by removing things that would become microplastics, nanoplastics or microfibers, we are keeping those materials out of the air and the food system. So that's a bigger system impact than someone might typically think about.”
Gay said there are some things people tend to misunderstand about environmental cleanup efforts.
“I think broadly that helping the environment doesn't always require extra time or a lot of extra effort,” she said. “Sometimes it can just be adding a positive action to an activity you're already doing, like walking.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Health-focused message boosts interest in litter cleanup | Exclusive
