Clean Hub’s consumer survey reveals cost-of-living crisis challenges to sustainable packaging adoption

13 May 2024 --- A Clean Hub survey investigating plastic packaging and recycling attitudes in the US finds almost half of the participants are happy paying extra for sustainable packaging, while many feel limited by cost. Additionally, it reveals that while 87% of respondents recycle at home, three-quarters want the government to make recycling more accessible.

“Those who said they earned more than US$150,000 a year were 53% more likely to pay for sustainable products than people earning less than US$24,999,” details the plastic waste recovery implementer.

“Around the world, countless national and international initiatives are emerging that embrace sustainable practices, aim to reduce emissions and eliminate single-use plastic. While these goals are great, wide-scale adoption will be challenging unless brands make economically viable products.”

The organization reveals that 71% of people aged 18–29 said they struggle to shop sustainably because of the cost-of-living crisis, even though they are more “sustainably aware.” 

The respondents identified F&B (75%), beauty and cosmetics (32%), and laundry and home care (23%) as the sectors creating the most plastic waste. One-fifth of respondents believed brands do enough to combat plastic pollution, with 78% disagreeing.

“With increasing knowledge about the state of our environment at their fingertips, conscious consumers aren’t afraid to hold brands accountable and demand change to improve our world — which is why this survey result hardly surprises us,” says Clean Hub.

“Brands can grow customer loyalty by switching to sustainable packaging, supporting environmental initiatives and adopting a proactive approach to the planet.”

Despite awareness about the negative impacts of plastic, one-third of people surveyed find it impossible to avoid single-use plastics. “Businesses urgently need to step up. Around 79% of respondents think brands should be doing more to tackle plastic pollution,” says the organization.

According to Clean Hub, people between 18 and 29 view access to facilities as their biggest challenge to recycling.Recycling barriers
The US has outlined its National Recycling Goal to recycle 50% of waste by 2030. However, according to Clean Hub, the survey results showcase barriers to recycling nationwide. 

“Our survey found that people over 45 believe motivation is the biggest hurdle to recycling (33%), and people between 18 and 29 say access to facilities is their biggest challenge (32%).”

Additionally, over a quarter of those surveyed do not have access to, or are unaware of, recycling facilities in their workplace. “This highlights a significant gap in workplace recycling initiatives in the US and suggests that some employers can do more to incentivize their workforce while showing a commitment to ESG initiatives,” says Clean Hub.

The organization notes that China’s ban on recycling waste imports has led to a drop in US recycling rates — from 9% in 2018 to 5% in 2024. Despite the expansion in the US recycling market of 3.6% per year between 2018 and 2023, the initiatives in the country are fragmented, says Clean Hub.

The survey received 77% positive responses on the need for the government’s implementation of more measures to make recycling accessible. 

“Most recycling efforts are state-led — meaning each region has its own set of recycling rules — but more needs to be done at a federal level. This could come from investments in recycling infrastructure, education initiatives, and implementing more policies to encourage circularity,” comments Clean Hub.

The survey also found a sense of skepticism about waste being recycled, with 35% admitting they were “not confident” that their waste is recycled. However, roughly three-quarters were confident about which materials could be recycled. 

“Although most people say they know what can be recycled, contamination of recycling collections is a huge problem worldwide. ‘Wish-cycling’ occurs when well-intentioned people place items that aren’t recyclable into recycling,” remarks Clean Hub.

“A previous study by the Pew Research Center found that 59% of Americans believe ‘most types of items’ can be recycled and mixed recycling is easily sorted — even though this isn’t the case.”

By Radhika Sikaria