Prevalence of Plastic Usage and the Factors Associated With It Among Adults in Perambalur District of South India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background People extensively use and dispose of plastic products because of their durability, affordability, and lightweight. The excessive production and consumption of plastics has led to pollution that has negative effects on both society and the environment. Nearly all Indian states and union territories have prohibited the usage of plastic bags, with Tamil Nadu being the fourth state in the country to implement such a prohibition. The study aims to determine the prevalence of plastic usage, its associated factors, and awareness regarding the laws related to the plastic ban. Methodology We conducted a cross-sectional study on 1200 adults above 18 years of age using multistage sampling. We undertook the study for three months in the district of Perambalur, in South India. The semi-structured questionnaire was used as a research tool, which contained information on socio-demographics, plastic utilization, understanding of plastic prohibition, its need, and views on bisphenol A (BPA). We entered the gathered data in Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA) and analyzed using SPSS version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). If the P-value was less than 0.05, we deemed it statistically significant. Results The mean age of the study participants was 44.47 ± 15.09 years. Plastic is being used by most of the study participants because of its wide availability and convenience of usage. Approximately 42.43% (n=471) of the participants adhere to non-segregation waste disposal practices in public bins. Approximately 1100 (92.5%) of the participants incorporate plastic into their daily routine. Among the participants, approximately 15.7% (188) were knowledgeable about bisphenol A (BPA), while about 92.6% (1111) of them were knowledgeable about plastic substitutes. Individuals belonging to the younger age group, male gender, higher education background, living in urban areas, living in joint families, and not engaged in agriculture were the primary users of plastic, and this trend was statistically significant (p <0.001). Conclusion In the study, the prevalence of plastic usage was higher among the participants who followed unsanitary methods of disposal. Despite the awareness of the hazards of plastic and the regulations against its use, its consumption remains high. Plastic consumption is higher in the urbanized area across residential, educational, occupational, and young age demographics. The mere act of raising awareness is insufficient; it is necessary to convert awareness into action to protect both the environment and humanity.