Bridging the microplastic awareness gap: community awareness, risk perception, and policy support for mitigating plastic pollution in Eastern Black Sea catchments

Effective mitigation of plastic pollution in catchment–coastal systems depends on community understanding of pollution pathways, risk perception, and policy support. This study assessed plastic-waste awareness, microplastic awareness, risk perception, policy support, and future engagement intention among school, university, and community-course centre respondents within an Eastern Black Sea source-to-sea project context linked to the Arılı and Çağlayan river catchments (n = 151). A venue-stratified questionnaire was analysed using ordinal-appropriate non-parametric and regression-based methods. The results showed a clear knowledge–concern asymmetry: plastic-waste awareness was moderate (mean = 3.25), whereas microplastic awareness was lower (mean = 2.52), despite high risk perception (mean = 4.38) and strong policy support (mean = 4.16). Microplastic awareness was the strongest cross-sectional correlate of higher plastic-waste awareness (odds ratio [OR] = 2.41), while plastic-waste awareness was positively associated with future engagement intention (OR = 2.29). A venue/life-stage-associated mismatch was also evident: school respondents reported higher microplastic awareness but lower risk perception and policy support than other respondent groups. Policy support was consistently high, particularly for regular river and coastal clean-ups, educational awareness initiatives, and deposit-refund systems, aligning with locally perceived pollution sources such as bottles, plastic bags, and household waste. Despite strong policy support, reported plastic-product use remained moderate, indicating an awareness–action gap. Overall, the findings identify favourable attitudinal conditions for intervention, but also limited microplastic awareness and incomplete behavioural translation. Because the study was cross-sectional, these patterns indicate associations rather than causal pathways. Strengthening microplastic-focused communication, aligning interventions with locally perceived sources, and integrating education with participatory and infrastructure-based measures are therefore critical for catchment-based plastic-pollution management in the Eastern Black Sea region.