Wet wipes in green ecosystems of Chernihiv, Ukraine
Keywords:
wet wipes, sustainable materials, Sustainable Development Goals, environmental educationAbstract
Purpose. To assess the pollution of recreation areas in Chernihiv with wet wipes and raise schoolchildren’s awareness of the related environmental problems. Design / Method / Approach. Direct counting of wet wipes on 100 m² in summer and autumn 2024. A socio-pedagogical study of schoolchildren’s awareness was conducted through a lecture and an online questionnaire before and after the lecture. Findings. Wet wipes were found as litter in recreation areas, indicating a low level of public awareness of their environmental impact. The smallest number of wet wipes was recorded in well-maintained or rarely visited areas. The highest (7 wipes/100 m²) was found in frequently visited but uncleaned areas without trash bins. The lecture “EcoSecrets of Wet Wipes” resulted in a positive shift in students’ perceptions, making them more aware of wet wipes as environmental pollutants containing hazardous substances and microplastics. Theoretical Implications. The findings expand the understanding of the environmental hazard posed by wet wipes and emphasize the need to mitigate their negative impact, particularly by educating schoolchildren about wet wipe pollution. Practical Implications. Raising awareness among children about responsible wet wipe use and the need to enhance their biodegradability and environmental safety. This supports the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals by promoting more conscious consumption habits. Originality / Value. This study is the first ecological assessment of urban pollution caused by wet wipes in Ukraine and the first socio-pedagogical study on schoolchildren’s awareness of this issue. Research Limitations / Future Research. Further educational and awareness-raising activities among school and university students regarding the environmental hazards of wet wipes, aligned with Sustainable Development Goals. Article Type. Applied Research.
Downloads
References
Ablak, S., & Yeşiltaş, E. (2020). Secondary School Students’ Awareness of Environmental Education Concepts. RIGEO, 10, 445–466. http://dx.doi.org/10.33403/rigeo.745951
Allison, T., Ward, B. D., Harbottle, M., & Durance, I. (2023). Do flushed biodegradable wet wipes really degrade? Science of the Total Environment, 894, 164912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164912
Alonso-Sainz, T. (2021). Educación para el desarrollo sostenible: Una visión crítica desde la Pedagogía. Rev. Complut. Educ., 32, 249–259. https://doi.org/10.5209/rced.68338
Bach, L., Strand, J., Salame, H., Simon, M., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., & Jensen, P. E. (2025). Wet wipes in untreated wastewater are a source of litter pollution to the arctic marine environment – a case study on the loads of litter and microplastics in wastewater effluents in Greenland. Environmental Science: Advances, 4(2), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4va00233d
El Azzouzi, A., Elachqar, A., & Kaddari, F. (2023). Integrating Environmental Education Into Physics Instruction: Insights From Teachers Regarding Students’ Engagement. Randwick International of Education and Linguistics Science Journal, 4(3), 491-499. https://doi.org/10.47175/rielsj.v4i3.787
Gornova, V. (2024). Chernihiv volunteers collected 85 bags of garbage in the Central Park of Culture and Recreation [in Ukrainian]. Suspilne Chernihiv. https://tinyurl.com/44h442nm
Gu, W. (2024). Research on strategy optimization of sustainable development towards green consumption of eco-friendly materials. Journal of King Saud University - Science, (6), 103190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2024.103190
Hu, T., Shen, M., & Tang, W. (2022). Wet wipes and disposable surgical masks are becoming new sources of fiber microplastic pollution during global COVID-19. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int., 29(1), 284-292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17408-3
Kobayashi, T., & Nakajima, L. (2021). Sustainable development goals for advanced materials provided by industrial wastes and biomass sources. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 28, 100439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2020.100439
Köklü, R., Ateş, A., Deveci, E. Ü., & Sivri, N. (2023). Generic foresight model in changing hygiene habits with the pandemic: use of wet wipes in next generations. J. Mater. Cycles Waste Manag., 25, 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01515-5
Kurokawa, H., Igei, K., Kitsuki, A., Kurita, K., Managi, S., Nakamuro, M., & Sakano, A. (2023). Improvement impact of nudges incorporated in environmental education on students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. J. Environ. Manage. 325(Pt B), 116612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116612
Martín-Jaime, J.-J., Velasco-Martínez, L.-C., & Tójar-Hurtado, J.-C. (2021). Evaluation of an Environmental Education Program Using a Cross-Sectoral Approach to Promote the Sustainable Use of Domestic Drains. Sustainability, 13(21), 12041. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112041
Zero Waste Scotland. (2018). Litter Monitoring Methodology. Guidance for practitioners. Zero Waste Scotland. https://cdn.zerowastescotland.org.uk/managed-downloads/mf-hjcmjf3l-1681397520d
Ó Briain, O., Marques Mendes, A. R., McCarron, S., Healy, M.G., Morrison, L. (2020). The role of wet wipes and sanitary towels as a source of white microplastic fibers in the marine environment. Water Res., 182, 116021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116021
Povidaichyk, O., & Hryn, O. (2024). The concept of sustainable development as the basis of continuous ecological training of future teachers [in Ukrainian]. Scientific Bulletin of Uzhhorod University. Series: «Pedagogy. Social Work», (1(54), 154–157. https://doi.org/10.24144/2524-0609.2024.54.154-157
Ramya, K., & Amutha, K. (2021). Eco-friendly wet wipes - A review. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Technical Textiles (Sathyamangalam, Tamilnadu, India, October 2021). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355522200_Eco_-Friendly_Wet_Wipes_-A_Review
Rudman, S., & Rudman, L. (2021). Reconfiguring the everyday: Plastic waste as performance art in addressing the incongruity between the ‘talk’ and the ‘walk’ in the plastic crisis. Environ. Educ. Res., 27, 1487–1501. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1947986
Shruti, V. C., Pérez-Guevara, F., & Kutralam-Muniasamy, G. (2021). Wet wipes contribution to microfiber contamination under COVID-19 era: An important but overlooked problem. Environmental Challenges, 5, 100267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2021.100267
Siegert, W. (2011). Preservative Trends in Wet Wipes. SOFW-J., 137, 44–51. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232273400_Preservative_Trends_in_Wet_Wipes
T. H. Shevchenko National University “Chernihiv Colehium”. (2024). Eco-secrets of wet wipes and the Sustainable Development Goals [in Ukrainian]. T. H. Shevchenko National University “Chernihiv Colehium”. http://chnpu.edu.ua/component/k2/item/4963-ekosekrety-volohykh-servetok-ta-tsili-staloho-rozvytku
Tkachuk, N. V., & Zelena, L. B. (2022). Experience in preparing students' scientific and research works of ecological and biological orientation in view of the goals of sustainable development [in Ukrainian]. Ecological Sciences, 1(40), 174-178. https://doi.org/10.32846/2306-9716/2022.eco.1-40.32
Tkachuk, N., & Zelena, L. (2023). Evaluation of the toxicity of wet wipes based on the growth test with Lepidium sativum L. Eng. Proc., 56, 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/ASEC2023-15495
Tkachuk, N., & Zelena, L., & Novikov, Y. (2024). Wet wipes as a cause of environmental problems: a mini review. Selected Papers of VІ International Conference on European Dimensions of Sustainable Development (May 15–17, 2024, Kyiv, Ukraine), 88-94. https://doi.org/10.24263/EDSD-2024-6-12
Tolochko, S. V. (2024). The influence of environmental problems of modern Ukraine on the formation of environmental competence of high school students [in Ukrainian]. Pedagogical Academy: scientific notes, (6), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.57125/pedacademy.2024.05.29.04
Torres, H. R., Reynolds, C. J., Lewis, A., Muller-Karger, F., Alsharif, K., Mastenbrook, K. (2019). Examining youth perceptions and social contexts of litter to improve marine debris environmental education. Environ. Educ. Res., 25, 1400–1415. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2019.1633274
Vasylenko, I. A., Nikolayenko, L. P., Ivanchenko, A. V., Gulyaev, V. M., Chuprynov, E. V., Skyba, M. I., Kovalenko, I. L. (2021). Advanced education for sustainable development: a manual [in Ukrainian]. Accent PP. https://www.dstu.dp.ua/Portal/Data/5/7/5-7-b1.pdf
Zhang, Yu., Wen, Z., Lin, W., Hu, Yu., Kosajan, V., Zhang, T. (2021). Life-cycle environmental impact assessment and plastic pollution prevention measures of wet wipes. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 174, 105803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105803
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nataliia Tkachuk, Dariia Zahryva (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in the journal Challenges and Issues of Modern Science are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY) license. This means that you are free to:
- Share, copy, and redistribute the article in any medium or format
- Adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the article
as long as you provide appropriate credit to the original work, include the authors' names, article title, journal name, and indicate that the work is licensed under CC BY. Any use of the material should not imply endorsement by the authors or the journal.
