Consumer Confusion over Recycling Persists, According to Study
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - 09:08:34
A poll from YouGov has shown that people in the UK are still uncertain about how to recycle the various materials they encounter in their daily lives, suggesting that there is still a need to improve labelling and enhance education on this issue.
Circular reports that just eight per cent of respondents to the survey said that they believed the current approach to labelling products was suitably clear in terms of identifying their recyclability, with as few as 12 per cent saying that they are confident enough to put their trust in the information that labels provide.
Around half of those questioned said that they were left confused by labelling at the moment, which is partly why the levels of distrust seem to be so steep today.
Another troubling aspect unearthed in the study is that people have very different approaches to recycling depending on where they are. Choosing to recycle while at home has a 50 per cent greater likelihood of happening on average than taking the same sustainable steps with waste when out and about. Meanwhile, there is double the chance of materials being properly separated and recycled in a domestic setting than in an individual’s place of work.
This disparity of habits suggests that it is also necessary for employers to reinforce the concept of recycling being essential; otherwise employees will either overlook this or actively ignore it.
In spite of these potentially problematic statistics, the study also found that two-thirds of consumers believe that their ability to recycle has been enhanced in the past half-decade. Furthermore, nine out of ten participants said that they saw recycling as a worthwhile endeavour, which is reassuring and indicates that there is a willingness to make use of the resources to achieve this where they are available.
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