Unpacking Online Discourse on Bioplastics: Insights from Reddit Sentiment Analysis

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Sociology

Background:

• Bioplastics offer a sustainable alternative to fossil-fuel-based products, with applications expanding across industries like packaging and construction.
• Widespread adoption of bioplastics hinges on consumer acceptance, making public sentiment a critical factor.
• Understanding public emotions is key to fostering trust and driving the market for bioplastics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze public sentiment and emotions regarding bioplastics using social media data.
• To identify dominant emotions and track changes in public perception over time.
• To explore the relationship between significant events and shifts in bioplastic sentiment.

Main Methods:

• Collected 5041 Reddit comments related to bioplastics using Python libraries (pandas, NLTK, NumPy).
• Performed sentiment analysis using the NRCLex lexicon to quantify emotions.
• Analyzed emotional trends and temporal correlations with external events from 2014-2024.

Main Results:

• The dominant emotions expressed towards bioplastics were trust, anticipation, and joy, indicating a generally positive public response.
• Negative emotions like fear, sadness, and anger were less frequent, though a notable surge in negative sentiment occurred in 2018.
• A temporal link was observed between major bioplastic-related events and shifts in user sentiment.

Conclusions:

• Public emotional response to bioplastics has been predominantly positive, with trust and anticipation being key drivers.
• While negative emotions are less common, their intensity during specific periods warrants attention.
• Real-time monitoring of public emotional responses is recommended for targeted communication strategies and to better align with public needs regarding bioplastics.