Has COVID-19 changed people’s perceptions of plastics?

A survey which measures whether COVID-19 has changed people’s use and perceptions of plastics, is being run on an OU platform.

This new national online survey to explore the subject, and how the pandemic has altered how people view the use and consumption of plastics across the country, is being led by the University of Hull.

The results will be uploaded to  nQuire, a citizen science platform developed at the OU’s Institute of Educational Technology (IET) in partnership with the BBC and led by Dr Christothea Herodotou, Senior Lecturer in IET. nQuire has been designed to support learning through designing and taking part in large-scale investigations; the plastics survey will gauge whether research which shows that the public view plastics as a serious environmental issue is still relevant.

Dr Herodotou said: “I’m really pleased to see that nQuire promotes authentic research during the pandemic while also helps citizens to learn about how their habits and attitudes to plastics may have changed because of the wide usage of protective equipment, masks and gloves during the last few months."

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