Files
Abstract
This dissertation is an attempt at better understanding the problem and possible solutions of plastic pollution in the National Capital Region of India including Delhi and neighboring districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, and Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida). Plastic pollution has been a serious problem in India, and it is often found that stray animals feed on plastic found by the roadside as litter. The Indian government has been actively fighting it but is perhaps not enough. Mixed method research is used to find answers to the research questions in the three essays which are based on field work carried out in summer 2022. In the first essay, thematic analysis is carefully applied to explore the narratives leading to causes and solutions of the underlying problem as understood by the residents in the study region. In the second essay, contingent valuation method is used to find the willingness to pay in monetary terms and as time contribution by the residents for reducing plastic pollution in the study region. Different econometric methods including Seemingly Unrelated Regressions are used to find the determinants of this willingness to pay. In the third essay, discrete choice experiment is used to find the willingness to pay for non-plastic environmentally friendly takeaway food containers in the study region as motivated by a similar study carried out in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010. Conditional Logit Model, Attribute Non-Attendance, and Latent Class Analysis are carried out to further study the consumer preference and demand for these alternative food containers. It is interesting to find that the research participants find themselves equally responsible in this fight against plastic pollution despite blaming it on the government and businesses. Our findings show that there is positive demand for a policy that targets reducing plastic pollution in the study region. This includes encouraging the use of non-plastic environmentally friendly takeaway food containers. This calls out for a societal change not far from now. This is the first such study in the study region and can provide valuable insights to researchers and policymakers alike thereby contributing uniquely to the literature.