Young adults’ perceptions of microplastics and the future direction of microplastics education

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate young adults’ perceptions of microplastics and their experiences with existing microplastics education, and to address future directions for educational improvement. Methods: Young adults’ perceptions of microplastics were quantitatively measured through a one-time online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Additionally, qualitative interviews were conducted to investigate their experiences with microplastics education. Results: Among all respondents, 65.4% reported that they were well informed about what microplastics are; however, only 46.2% indicated that they were well informed about microplastics-related issues including problems, examples, and solutions. In addition, only 11.5% of respondents perceived that education on microplastics was being adequately provided. The proportions of positive responses regarding intentions and actual behaviors to reduce microplastics and perceived knowledge of reduction behaviors varied across survey items. Interview data indicated limited accessibility to microplastics-related education and showed a willingness to adopt environmentally friendly behaviors through participation in structured educational programs. Conclusion: Future microplastics-related health education should move beyond reliance on the voluntary interest of specific populations and instead be incorporated into routine and regularly operated public education systems to enhance the frequency of providing diverse and professional information.