Summary
This paper addresses inconsistency in how plastic pollution 'hotspots' are defined across research and policy contexts, revealing that different definitional approaches yield vastly different results (0.8–93.3% of pollution identified). Drawing on datasets ranging from urban to global scale, the authors propose a unified, fit-for-purpose framework with five key steps to standardise hotspot delineation, aimed at improving resource allocation and policy effectiveness in plastic pollution mitigation.
UK applicability
The framework is relevant to UK policymakers and researchers working to implement plastic pollution prevention measures under emerging national and international agreements. UK water, waste, and environmental management systems could benefit from applying this harmonised approach to identify priority areas for intervention.
Key measures
Percentage of total plastic pollution captured by different hotspot definitions; percentage of total locations covered; spatial and temporal consistency of hotspot identification
Outcomes reported
The study applied four common hotspot definitions to plastic pollution datasets across urban to global scales, finding that hotspot definitions identified between 0.8% to 93.3% of total plastic pollution while covering <0.1% to 50.3% of total locations. The authors developed a step-wise framework incorporating purpose, units, spatial scale, temporal scale, and threshold values to harmonise hotspot definitions.
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