Will COVID-19 break or build our bond with plastic?

Policy@Manchester hosted this learning lunch on Wednesday 2 December.

The pandemic has led to a steep rise in single use plastics, in our homes, our businesses and our hospitals. Will this return to a more throw-away approach to plastic be with us to stay? If that is the case, what are the implications across our society in the coming years? And what, if any, are the solutions?

On 2 December, Policy@Manchester was joined by Dr Helen Holmes to discuss how our relationship with plastics changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her presentation was followed by a Q&A. 

Dr Helen Holmes

Helen Holmes is an interdisciplinary social scientist with expertise in the sociology of consumption, materiality and diverse economies, particularly circular economy. Helen joined The University of Manchester in 2015 as a Hallsworth Fellow based at the Sustainable Consumption Institute, undertaking a project exploring contemporary forms of thrift. Helen was appointed as a lecturer in 2020 and is also a member of the Morgan Centre for Research into Everyday Lives.

 

This event was recorded on 2 December 2020.