Investigation of awareness and knowledge levels in the context of plastic waste pollution in the sea

The focus of this thesis is to measure the level of knowledge of the business owners and employees actively involved in the production of plastic wastes, pollution in the sea and R & D studies. The random and abusive use of the natural environment leads to very difficult and often impossible problems to recover. Since our country is a country surrounded by seas on three sides, sea pollution is vital in our country. The unconscious use of the seas causes the inefficiencies of the seas, which are the beginning of life, and the massacres of the living organisms and, most importantly, disrupts the ecosystem balance. It is possible to count different types of marine litter. One of these species is plastics that can remain intact in the marine environment for a long time. In today's technology age, plastics are essential for many industries including healthcare, as well as basic needs such as eating, drinking and sheltering. We can take full advantage of all the possibilities offered by plastics by disposing them correctly or sending them for recycling after use. While conducting the study, a detailed literature search was conducted primarily. In addition to this, a 73-question questionnaire was applied which makes it possible to measure marine ecosystem, marine pollution, plastic wastes and damages in the seas, R & D studies in the surveyed firm, tendency to use plastics and recycling studies. The analyzes were conducted using a total of 77 variables, 4 of which were socio-demographic, 39 of which measured information, 13 of which measured attitude and 21 of which measured behavior. Keywords:Marine waste, plastic waste, plastic waste pollution, marine ecosystem,plastic waste awareness