Differences of Consumer Behaviour Regarding Plastic Usage

Abstract

The growth of plastic packaging waste and the need to manage it determine the relevance of this research. The problem is the lack of information about consumers' behavior regarding usage and wastage of plastic packaging in certain groups according to age, gender, incomes, and education in Lithuania. The purpose of the research is to investigate consumer behavior in the purchase process regarding the choice of plastic usage. Quantitative sampling was used to gather data from 641 respondentconsumers who regularly are shopping at the grocery stores for food. The research results revealed statistically significant differences in consumer behavior in the purchase process regarding the choice of plastic usage among gender, age, education level, and incomes.

CO2 Emissions from Plastic Consumption Behaviors in Thailand

“…In addition, those with bachelor's degrees displayed a greater tendency to use medium-use and long-use plastics. These results were opposite to Jeżewska-Zychowicz and Jeznach (2015) as well as Jesevičiūtė-Ufartienė (2019), who found that people with higher educational attainment possess heightened environmental awareness and are more inclined to minimize their usage of plastic packaging [26,38]. However, this study corroborated the findings of Afroz et al (2017) and Madigele et al (2017), which revealed that knowledge and environmental behavior are not necessarily interconnected [39,40].…”

“…Single-use plastics were found to be consumed at high rates across almost all family income levels. Previous research has found that family income influences plastic consumption behavior, but the findings are diverse [26,29,39,40]. For instance, Jeseviči ūt ė-Ufartien ė (2019) [26] and Afroz et al (2017) [39] reported that people with higher incomes were less willing to pay for plastic products because they spent money more conscientiously.…”

“…Previous research has found that family income influences plastic consumption behavior, but the findings are diverse [26,29,39,40]. For instance, Jeseviči ūt ė-Ufartien ė (2019) [26] and Afroz et al (2017) [39] reported that people with higher incomes were less willing to pay for plastic products because they spent money more conscientiously. Conversely, Madigele et al (2017) [40] found that people with higher incomes are willing to pay for plastic products, particularly plastic bags, for convenience, even those with a heightened environmental awareness.…”

“…Behavior changes are vital to reducing plastic waste sustainably [11]. Many studies have focused on plastic consumption behaviors [23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. One found that students in Indonesia consumed plastic bottles at 1.39 g/cap/day, plastic bags at 0.14 g/cap/day, and plastic cups at 0.20 g/cap/day [28].…”

“…Similarly, a study of English people found that most respondents (67% of the total sample) consumed plastic bottles at about 1-5 pieces/cap/day [27]. The factors affecting plastic consumption behaviors included gender, age, education, income, and community engagement [23,25,26,29]. For example, women tended to "think green" by carrying their own bags or reusing plastic bags.…”