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Chapter 1
Mapping Out Cross-sectoral Collaboration and Multi-level Governance Within Single Use Plastic Policy: An Analysis
Clinton Cassar and Mario Thomas Vassallo
Abstract
Undeniably, plastic usage is predominant in our daily lives, featuring in an endless list of items such as bottles, disposables, packaging and fabric. At prima facie, plastic disposal causes irreversible damage to the natural environment, especially oceans. However, it also impacts human health and wellbeing, especially since its toxins or microplastics find themselves in the food chain. Since plastic causes a myriad of negative effects on the natural environment and human health, the urgency to ban it has been addressed by international organizations and the European Union (EU). Being the smallest member state within the EU, Malta presents an insightful case study of how different levels of governance and a plethora of state and non-state actors engage in a game-like interaction. To this effect, this chapter sheds light on the implications of plastic pollution vis-á-vis sustainability and wellbeing, addressed through multi-level governance. The research core revolves around an investigation on the institutional intricacies in addressing the wicked problem of single-use plastic by mapping out the different layers of policy-making mechanisms that are involved, ranging from local to European and international governance, and from governmental to civil society centric strategies. A positivist ontology is activated to underpin the exploratory nature of this study. Through the application of content analysis of selected documentation, the extent of coordination and synergies among the different policy actors across a multi-layered governance platform is put under scrutiny. Quantitative findings are utilized to validate or contradict the original set of hypotheses and to propose a number of policy and governance recommendations that are useful to researchers and practitioners in the fields of public policy, politics, environmental science, public health and wellbeing, as well as insurance and risk management.
Keywords: Plastic; sustainability; network governance; multi-level governance; cross-sectoral collaboration; Malta
Introduction
The etymology of the word “plastics,” a term which essentially encompasses a number of polymers, stems from the Greek word “plastikos” signifying “fit for molding” (Richardson & Lokensgard, 2004). This appropriately describes the item, which includes the conversion of natural products or synthesis from oil, coal or gas (Morris, 1986; Thompson, Swan, Moore, & vom Saal, 2009 as cited in Hammer, Kraak, & Parsons, 2012). It is touted as a widely held axiom that single-use plastic has been a necessity throughout the years, used in a plethora of products. In fact, 300 million tons of plastic are produced annually, 50% of which are single-use products such as plastic bags, cutlery, straws and drinking bottles (Nerland, Halsband, Allan, & Thomas, 2014). The popularity of this product is attributed due to positive characteristics such as its low cost, versatility, light weight and formability (Andrady, 2015). However, it indeed has a darker side to it and is subject to loathing by many.
At prima facie, it seems a burgeoning problem, described appropriately by Landon-Lane (2018) as a “wicked” multiplicity of challenges. This is because as Ten Brink, Schweitzer, Watkins, and Howe (2016) outline, throughout its extraction, transportation, manufacturing, use and disposal, plastic impacts injuriously not only the environment but also human health. This is done directly and indirectly via ingestion, inhalation and skin contact (Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) , 2019). Plastics are derived from fossil fuels, and the associated activities involved with its extraction, disposal and incineration, cause the emission of various pollutants, which cause climate change.
Also, plastic fragments find themselves in the food chain, and as a result of biomagnification and bioaccumulation, are transferred from one organism to another until they are finally consumed by humans. In fact, Van Cauwenberghe and Janssen (2014 as cited in Morrissey, 2019) estimated that up to 11,000 microplastic particles per year are ingested by individuals in European countries with high shellfish consumption, whereas an average of 1,800 microplastics per year are ingested by people in European countries with low shellfish consumption.
In response to an awakening in addressing this problem, the notion of sustainable development, albeit at times obvious and trite, has never been befitting to the situation. Time and again, a myriad of strategies or measures were designed to address this challenge. Cross-sectoral collaboration (CSC) through the engagement of a plethora of actors and policy mechanisms is crucial to bring about a paradigm shift within the institutional framework and attitudinal formation to combat plastic pollution. Implementing sustainability through multi-level governance (MLG), starting from minute structures at the local level to transnational ones at a global level, is deemed a must to address this problem in an effective manner.
Research Scope
Many researchers among them Peng, Wang, and Cai (2017), Rochman, Hoh, Kurobe, and Teh (2013), Vergara and Tchobanoglous (2012 as cited in Nielsen, Hasselbalch, Holmberg, & Stripple, 2019) postulate that the need for more studies in plastic governance is required, especially vis-á-vis public health (Mederake & Knoblauch, 2019). Hence, the significance of this study is pertinent not only to the international and European level but also to the institutional capacity of nation states.
Research is marshaled from the perspective of Malta, the European Union’s (EU) smallest member state, whose population has moved beyond half a million for the very first time (The Malta Independent, 2020) in a microarea of 316 square kilometres (NSO, 2014). The study seeks to expose the institutional intricacies in addressing the reduction of single-use plastic by mapping out the different layers of policy-making mechanisms that are involved, ranging from local to European and international governance, and from state- to non-state-centric strategies. To achieve its scope, this research inquiry rests on the theoretical underpinnings proposed by the concepts of MLG and CSC. Rooted in the selected documents regulating the fight against single-use plastic, six hypotheses lie at the core of this exploratory research, namely:
I. There is a correlation between state and non-state actors.
II. There is a correlation between local and international levels of governance.
III. There is a correlation between lowest strands of MLG (i.e., local) and the multi-actor scenarios (i.e., citizen).
IV. There is a correlation between CSC and MLG.
V. There is a correlation between MLG and stakeholders.
VI. There is a correlation between Maltese plastic governance and international regulatory regimes.
This chapter is divided into five parts. The first part focuses on the historical setting to understand the evolutionary process of the plastic narrative since its inception after World War II. The focus will then turn to the legal and regulatory frameworks that were gradually developed over the multi-layered platform of global, regional and domestic governance to tackle waste management, in particular single-use plastic. The theoretical parameters resulting from MLG and CSC are presented next, followed by the methodological strategy. The fourth section rolls out the findings resulting from a scientific inquiry stemming from content analysis of selected documents. The testing of the original hypotheses is reserved to the concluding part, together with a set of policy and governance recommendations.
Historical Setting
The study starts by tracing the evolutionary narrative of the plastic problem to facilitate a better understanding of the contextual, legal and theoretical underpinnings in later sections. Lasswell (1971, p. 9) promotes the “policy history” approach because
the significance of contemporary developments is illuminated when we take a long view of the past … if the past is approached contextually, it is possible to achieve novel perspectives on the configuration of all events.
Policy histories are particularly useful in studying multipl...
