A new report reveals how Virginia voters feel about plastic pollution and potential policies to address it. The report, a collaboration by Clean Virginia Waterways of Longwood University and the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program with OpinionWorks, describes findings from a statewide survey of Virginia voters conducted in March, 2022. The opinion research aimed to explore Virginians’ attitudes about several problems facing the state, with a special focus on gauging public opinion on proposed policies related to reducing plastic waste and pollution.
Ultimately, the research group found that “Virginia voters are very concerned about plastic pollution, ranking it higher than climate change and the COVID pandemic” (McKay et al., 2022). Given their concern for the state of the environment in Virginia, researchers asked survey respondents about their opinions on several proposed policies to reduce plastic pollution. They found that:
- 76% of Virginia voters support a policy to require less plastic in packaging
- 71% of voters support shifting the costs of recycling from taxpayers to the producers of the plastic waste
- 65% of voters support deposits on beverage bottles, cans, and containers (i.e., a “bottle bill”)
- 63% of voters support a cigarette litter fee
- 63% of voters support a ban on polystyrene (foam) food and beverage packaging
- 61% of voters support banning single-use plastic grocery and shopping bags
- And 47% of voters support a 5-cent fee on single-use grocery and shopping bags.
The findings of this survey not only reveal the deep concern Virginia voters have for their environment, but they also demonstrate voters’ readiness to support public policies to address plastic pollution in their communities.
You can find the survey and read more about its collaborators on the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program and Clean Virginia Waterways websites.
McKay, L., Register, K. and Raabe, S. (2022). Plastic Pollution: Virginia’s Voters Support Action: 2022 Public Perception Survey. Prepared for the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program.
