Print media discursive practices and the socio-contextual representation of single-use plastics ban in Malawi

This paper analyses the coverage and socio-contextual representation of the single-use plastics ban by two mainstream newspapers in Malawi, The Daily Times and The Nation Newspapers, between January 2019 and December 2022. Single-use Plastics are one of the most significant environmental issues threatening the ecosystem and inducing climate change, with substantial costs to Malawi’s tourism industry, agriculture, and health. Informed by the social representations theory and thematic analysis, the study established political and expert indexing that reproduced the views of those in power. The dominant themes from the newspapers included policy and court proceedings, demonstrating the heavy contestation of the issue. In its discursive strategies, the news media employed criminal and monster metaphors to portray single-use plastics as a villain in environmental degradation. Given this, the article argues that though the single-use plastic ban is a rational idea, apparent alternatives that resonate with the general public directly dependent on single-use plastics should be provided for effective implementation and enforcement. The article concludes that newspapers’ threatening representation and reliance on government and experts’ views while marginalising the public directly involved with single-plastic use offers no urgent and pragmatic positive solutions in the face of increasing plastic waste.