Responsibility, engagement, and policy strategy for ocean plastic waste management: a Q-method study of stakeholder perspectives

Ocean plastic waste is an urgent environmental crisis, subject to growing media and policy scrutiny. We use Q-methodology assess stakeholder perspectives on management practices, finding four emergent discourses concerning: citizenship, global responsibility, health prioritization economic incentivisation. find consensus the impacts, levels of coverage need for action – creating a ‘policy window’ strong governance. Yet there remains disparity over who should lead pro-environmental action, whether consumer behavior will genuinely change time. Visual communication emerges as popular tool build social capacity change. It behoves policymakers learn from other visual initiatives, such those cigarette packaging, stimulate long-term public engagement. By combining with taxes levies alter demand-side single products, we suggest that longer-term sustainable can be achieved.