
Professor Lesley Henderson
Professor Of Science Communication
Journalism, Media and Communication
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Framing pollution : social science approaches to matters of waste Henderson Lesley Encyclopaedia of Health Research in the Social Sciences (2023) (2023) Drinking and dropping : on interacting with plastic pollution and waste in south-eastern Nigeria Henderson Lesley, Dumbili Emeka Worldwide Waste Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Vol 4 (2021) https://doi.org/10.5334/wwwj.59 The challenge of plastic pollution in Nigeria Dumbili Emeka, Henderson Lesley Plastic Waste and Recycling Environmental Impact, Societal Issues, Prevention and Solutions (2020) (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817880-5.00022-0 Making sense of microplastics? Public understandings of plastic pollution Henderson Lesley, Green Christopher Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol 152, pp. 1-15 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.110908 Flood disasters in the United Kingdom and India : a critical discourse analysis Solman Paul, Henderson Lesley Journalism Vol 20, pp. 1648–1664 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918762363 Media Analysis and Public Health : Contemporary Issues in Critical Public Health Henderson Lesley, Hilton Shona, Green Judith (2019)
Publications
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UKRI Interdisciplinary Assessment College (External organisation) Advisor 9/2023 PlasticsFuture 2023 Invited speaker 20/6/2023 Demands for the Plastic Treaty: Science over Profit Contributor 6/2023 How to Achieve Synergy and Continuity between social and behavioural research and local behaviour change action programs Speaker 19/5/2023 Evidence-based Interventions, Mitigations and Adaptations Where and How to Intervene. Participant 19/5/2023 Research on plastics, communications, and social change: PISCeS Invited speaker 16/5/2023
SCDT Social Dimensions of Plastics: Communications, Behaviours and Social Change Henderson, Lesley (Principal Investigator) Set up the new Centre and leveraged funding from NERC (£52,886k) Wastebuster & FSG Packaging (£84k) and match funding from the Centre to support 3 students for 3.5-4 years. Topics are: Popular Storytelling to Reduce Plastic Waste: Behavioural Change, Sustainability and Young People; Healthy Reusables? Challenges and Opportunities in NHS settings; Communicating (Micro)plastics: Science and media myths in a changing landscape. This Centre will strengthen capacity building for the next generation of plastics research leaders building a community of scholars focused on interdisciplinary approaches to the plastics crisis. The plastics challenge is complex and requires the triple helix approach to innovation systems to bring together industry, government, and higher education to identify spaces of consensus and achieve systemic change. There is a pressing need for doctoral researchers to be equipped with novel interdisciplinary skills required to meet global challenges and our students will be uniquely placed to take up research posts in the forthcoming international portfolio of plastics related grants at ease with collaborating across academic disciplines, sectors and nations as formulating sustainable solutions to plastics pollution has become an integral part of the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2027 Social Dimensions of Plastics: Providing Innovate UK funding for a studentship in Plastics, Communications, Behaviours and Social Change Henderson, Lesley (Principal Investigator) 01-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2026 Plastic Pollution and the Pandemic: A cross disciplinary exploration of health risks, perceptions, materials, and histories Henderson, Lesley (Principal Investigator) Plastic pollution is high on the public, policy and research agendas with anxiety focused on risk to human health from microplastics and nanoplastics pollution. The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated anthropogenic emissions of plastic waste and created distinct challenges for mitigating the use of single use plastics and fragmentation of plastics in the environment. Pre-COVID, the NHS achieved 62% reduction in 1990 waste levels yet 6 months after the COVID-19 outbreak it used more than 1 billion surgical masks, generating 3 million kilograms of waste (Hopkinson et al., 2021). Widespread public use of disposable face masks, gloves and testing kits contributed to new environmental litter discarded in public spaces, landfill, dumpsites, freshwater and oceans (Fadare et al., 2020). As many as 1.56 billion plastic polypropylene face masks entered the ocean in 2020 (OceansAsia, 2020) significantly impacting on marine flora and fauna. Discarded personal protective equipment (PPE) could play a role in potential coronavirus exposure and transmission in different environments, yet little is known about the health risks of PPE as a vector for disease. Technical solutions alone are insufficient to solve the plastics crisis and humanities and social sciences insights regarding the consumption and disposal of plastics, perceptions of risks from COVID-19 and microplastics; the development and implementation of alternative materials and population heterogeneity and the inequalities of the burden of plastic waste will prove vital to ensure that evidence-based interventions fully address the lived experience of communities.
This project will explore social dimensions of plastics and the pandemic and lay the foundation for an ambitious cross disciplinary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the circular economy approach to net zero. Prof. Henderson will mobilise insights from her externally funded research on plastics and social change and significant partnerships with international academics, industry, and policymakers, to co-ordinate this project.
15-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2023 Student funding: EARTH Research Fellowship Award SGSAH/British Council Henderson, Lesley (Principal Investigator) Secured EARTH Research Fellowship Award SGSAH/British Council for doctoral student University of Western Australia, Sydney, £6290. 01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2023 Providing the 30% recycled content for food packing (PFP): An integrated stakeholder approach to solving 'hard to recycle' plastic packaging Henderson, Lesley (Principal Investigator) 12-Jan-2022 - 30-Jan-2023 contributed written evidence to policy consultations including Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs: Consultation on proposals to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England Henderson, Lesley (Principal Investigator) As founder and Group Leader of the Sustainable Plastics Research Group at Brunel contributed written evidence to policy consultations including Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs: Consultation on proposals to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England, February 2022 01-Jan-2022
Professional Activities
Projects
This project will explore social dimensions of plastics and the pandemic and lay the foundation for an ambitious cross disciplinary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the circular economy approach to net zero. Prof. Henderson will mobilise insights from her externally funded research on plastics and social change and significant partnerships with international academics, industry, and policymakers, to co-ordinate this project.
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Contact
Professor
Lesley
Henderson
Professor Of Science Communication
Journalism, Media and Communication
Email: lesley.henderson@strath.ac.uk
Tel: Unlisted