A new study has found that a majority of UK consumers want to see supermarkets do more to reduce the use of plastic packaging. The study by Toluna, a tech company operating in the market research space, surveyed 1,000 people in the UK.
It found that 69% of those polled hold supermarkets and retailers responsible for reducing the amount of plastic used. 40% said they were “very concerned” about the amount of plastic packaging used in food and drink product, with that number growing to 51% for those aged between 55 and 64 years, and to 49% in those over 65 years.
Other key findings included:
- 73% believe reduced plastic use is the responsibility of brands or manufacturers.
- 60% want to see more progress from supermarkets specifically in reducing the use of plastic packaging (although they admit they have made a good start), and a further 19% feel supermarkets haven’t done enough and need to do much more.
- 65% don’t think there are enough plastic free options on offer for the products they buy despite many trying to avoid plastic packaging (86% try to avoid at least occasionally).
- A lack of availability for other forms of packaging was ranked in the top three issues surrounding plastic packaging (46%), behind plastic pollution of the oceans (65%), and plastic land pollution (54%)
- 33% thought plastic alternatives were too expensive, with 42% stating that shopping plastic-free was more costly than not.
- 25% believe that plastic alternatives aren’t as durable.
The study also found that consumers are increasingly committed to being plastic free – but not consistently. Out of those surveyed:
- 23% have tried a plastic-free challenge when shopping. Two-thirds of those who did this successfully completed the challenge.
- Those aged 18-34 are more likely (compared to all other age groups) to have tried a plastic-free challenge.
- 89% of those aged over 55 years old say they try to avoid buying items in plastic. However, only 10% of all shoppers try to avoid buying items in plastic packaging all of the time, 76% do so occasionally or often.
- 44% of respondents agree that avoiding single-use plastic is easier now than it was five years ago
- 68% said they would switch to plastic-free options in their weekly shop if they were available.
Lucia Juliano, Research Sector Head – CPG at Toluna, said: “It’s clear that businesses and consumers alike are aware of plastic packaging use and there’s a common goal to drive down overall use as we continue to fight against climate change. However, there’s a feeling that brands, retailers, manufacturers and supermarkets need to do more to reduce plastic packaging with people feeling that supermarkets in particular haven’t made great progress in reducing plastic use in the last five years. It’s vital that a greater variety of packaging is provided when it comes to plastic free options. Doing this increases the number of plastic-free products that consumers can buy and therefore contribute to plastic reduction across the UK. In short, our research confirms that everyone needs to do more from manufacturers and supermarkets to brands and, of course, shoppers.”
