“I find plastics fascinatng.”
In autumn 2020, Karl Holmberg started his PhD research in STEPS, work package three. Before that he was a research assistant in the programme. He has already co-authored a number of research articles, together with STEPS researchers, focusing on the relationship between plastics and politics, and plas- tics in art.
Karl Holmberg is a PhD-candidate at the Department of Political Science, Lund University, in STEPS work package three.
In his PhD, he will investigate plastics and its wider role in society.
– I want to dig deeper into our everyday culture but also economic and political interests and how they relate to plastic use. We cannot solve the issues of plastics with technological improvements alone, but we need to also work on behavior, expectations and influences in society for us to achieve a sustainable transition of the sector.
– Many resist transitions or are afraid of change, even if solutions exist, but these solutions will likely impact our lives which can be frightening or feel like constraints. In that sense, social sciences is crucial in our efforts to make the plastic realm more sustainable, a field which is
only now starting to come to the fore in plastics research.
As part of his research, Karl Holmberg has co-developed a public survey to explore people’s perception of plastic. The survey includes specific questions on willingness to consume less, accept bans or pay extra for more sustainable alter- natives and whether people are positive to tax increases.
– Very few studies investigate whether people are willing to accept bans, fees, or actively change their behavior when it comes to plastic use. We are interested to see how people respond to questions on tax and reduced assortment for example, to get a feel for if people are willing to walk the talk on their own usage.
Another research field that piques Karl Holmberg’s interest is how the rise of the modern society has impacted plastic consumption.
– The rise of the modern industrial soci- ety brought with it an unprecedented use of new materials and technological innovations. I am interested in teasing out some of the philosophical questions that are inexorably bound up in plastic use. What has for example enabled the material to become so ubiquitous?
He reflects that the malleability of plastics is something really unique. A great mate- rial that could be hard to replace with good alternatives.
– We know that we have to decrease plastic use. A big part of this, I think, will be about changing the expectation of what plastics can give us. Or get used to the idea that one cannot use plastics for all the products that we do today.
Essentially plastics and materials and objects at large need to regain their long-term value.
– However, it is important to not disre- gard that there are persistent ideas in our society around consumerism, disposabili- ty and a fetishism around new things and gadgets. Ideas which are largely support- ed by and advocated directly or indirectly by authorities and private actors which makes it difficult for people to go against this stream and see the overarching issues attached to plastics.
“I find plastics fascinating”
Karl Holmberg is hopeful that a sustain- able transition can be achieved – in spite of the complexity of the plastic sector, and the need for a complete transforma- tion of how plastics is produced, used and recycled.
– It is a huge task to tackle unsustainable plastics, especially plastics’ connection to climate change. But I am still more hope- ful than pessimistic! By doing research, I hope I can at least contribute to some positive change!