Microplastics are ubiquitous and have been found in marine environments, organisms, salt, and even human bodies. Concern about the impact of microplastics on the ecological environment, as well as the threat of microplastics to food safety and public health is increasing among the society. However, there is currently no effective technical way to tackle and remove microplastics from the environment. Thus, public attitudes are key to reducing microplastic emissions. This study investigated the public's perceptions and attitudes towards microplastics in Shanghai and used an ordered regression model to explore the public's willingness to reduce microplastics and its influencing factors. We used random face-to-face interviews to complete a total of 437 valid questionnaires. The survey results show that only 26% of the respondents had heard of microplastics before the survey, and the majority were relatively unfamiliar with microplastics. Although the public's awareness of microplastics is low compared to that of other substances, when informed with the possibility that microplastics may affect human health, 75% of respondents became worried or even overly worried. In addition, the higher the respondents' knowledge of plastics and microplastics is, the stronger their willingness to behave. Public's concern is also an important impact factor. We found that women's willingness to reduce emissions is higher than men's and environmental protection-related practitioners are also more willing to act. Therefore, this article focuses on the public's understanding of microplastics to propose measures and policy implications to reduce microplastic emissions during the process of microplastic production and recycling.

微塑料无处不在，并且已经在海洋环境，生物，盐甚至人体中发现。社会上越来越关注微塑料对生态环境的影响以及微塑料对食品安全和公共卫生的威胁。但是，目前尚无有效的技术方法来解决环境中的微塑料问题并从中去除微塑料。因此，公众的态度是减少微塑料排放的关键。本研究调查了上海市民对微塑料的看法和态度，并使用有序回归模型探讨了公众减少微塑料的意愿及其影响因素。我们使用随机面对面访谈来完成总共437份有效问卷。调查结果表明，只有26％的受访者在调查之前听说过微塑料，而且大多数人相对不熟悉微塑料。尽管与其他物质相比，公众对微塑料的认识不高，但是当得知微塑料可能影响人类健康时，有75％的受访者感到担忧甚至过于担忧。此外，受访者对塑料和微塑料的了解程度越高，他们的行为意愿就越强。公众的关注也是重要的影响因素。我们发现，女性减少排放的意愿高于男性，并且与环保相关的从业者也更愿意采取行动。因此，本文重点关注公众