The decline in the use of disposable plastic bags in the UK is due to people’s desire to save, not to care for the environment. This is evidenced by a large study by the University of Nottingham Business School, The Guardian reports.
An analysis of nearly 1.3 million transactions showed that plastic bags are mostly bought by young people, more often by men, ie people who are less likely to count pennies. The peak demand for balloons falls on the holiday season.
Despite the fact that, in particular, in England, the law requires stores to distribute packages at a price of at least 10 pence apiece (3.6 hryvnia per exchange rate), there are many people who continue to take these packages. Researchers were interested in the motivation of these people and surveyed more than 10,000 consumers. Questionnaires were compared with data on transactions during procurement.
Responses show that respondents’ views on environmental threats, in particular climate change, have little effect on their consumer behavior.
“We expected that people who rarely buy packages are at least partially motivated by the desire to save. However, what we did not expect was that environmental considerations did not affect consumption at all, ”said analyst Gavin Smith.
He suggests that in subsequent information campaigns should produce different messages, according to whom they are addressed.
According to official figures, before plastic bags were paid for, one British household used an average of about 140 bags a year, and as of May this year, the figure had dropped to four.
