Europeans are willing to pay more for less plastic

Six out of ten (62%) European consumers say that they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is and pay more for food that contains less plastic packaging. A similar number (59%) say they sort and recycle more than they did five years ago. This is shown by DS Smith's survey of 3,395 respondents from Belgium, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, carried out in July 2019 with the aim of gaining insight into consumer attitudes and habits in the areas of packaging, recycling and waste management. 

A large majority in Europe - nine out of ten respondents (91.5%) - indicated that they would choose packaging with 85% less plastic. When asked whether they would pay a premium of 12.5% for this option for packaging with less plastic, 62% of the respondents indicated that they would be prepared to do so.

Respondents in Belgium were the most price sensitive: just over half (54%) said they were willing to pay more, while the Poles were the most willing (72%) to pay for less plastic in their packaging. The British and Germans were closer to the European average, with 60 and 63%, respectively, saying they would pay more.

Plastic packaging: The bête noire of Europe

An overwhelming majority of respondents - 86% - say that environmental issues are the greatest concern of society today, with packaging being a major concern for consumers across Europe, from Cardiff to Krakow. The Germans express the greatest fear of packaging (83%), followed by the British (78%), Belgians (73%) and Poles (71%).

At the other end of the scale, the packaging option that is of least concern to Europeans is packaging cartons - mentioned by only 1% of respondents in the four countries.

European recycling habits

It also shows that European recycling habits have improved considerably. On average six out of ten (59%) respondents in the four markets surveyed say they sort and recycle more now than five years ago. This represents a majority of respondents in all countries - with respondents in the UK taking the lead (64%).

This may be because people in the UK say they feel better informed and pay more attention to recycling. The survey showed that media coverage and the disposal of plastic bags in shops are the two main drivers for consumer awareness of packaging problems in Europe, which were mentioned by 30% and 24% of the British respectively. Two-thirds of the British (66%) say they feel sufficiently informed about the recyclability of food packaging and that they look at the presence of recycled material in packaging when shopping for food.