Abstract
Novel environmentally friendly alternatives for packaging materials such as bioplastics are being developed to mitigate problems with petrochemical plastics but low acceptance of these bioplastics among consumers and others have delayed their adoption. Through a mixed method approach, this work aims to assess the factors contributing to the low adoption rates of bioplastics as a way to inform development of more highly accepted bioplastics. Stakeholders with a variety of links with the packaging/plastic industries were interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach and the results were analysed to discover recurrent themes and perceptions regarding packaging. From this thematic analysis, a survey was conducted to explore consumer opinion. The findings indicate that although the population is aware and interested in changing to environmentally friendly packaging, confusion exists as to what that means and what are the best ways to effect that change. The teenager group was identified as the most susceptible to be involved in the change. Frequently cited barriers to acceptance centred on separation of waste and access to correct waste bins. The characteristics likely to lead to a higher acceptance of novel bioplastics by composters were time of decomposition, small thickness, and possibility of being introduced in current processes of packaging preparation, among others.
Highlights
The environmental damage linked with the excessive use of single-use plastic in the packaging industry has created the need for the development of bioplastics that decompose rapidly into water, carbon dioxide and biomass [1,2]
The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of stakeholder motivations and user behaviours so that we can identify specific characteristics and functions that will remove barriers to the adoption of bioplastics
After analysing all responses in terms of gender and age group, it was possible to conclude that there were no significant differences between male and female respondents or between age groups for any of the questions. Both strategies for understanding the acceptability of a potential novel bioplastic as an environmental material for the packaging industry in Ireland yielded corroborating conclusions. Both interviews and surveys showed that the majority of stakeholders and consumers are open to, and agree with, the need to change the Irish packaging industry to a more environmentally friendly industry and the population shows an awareness of the consequences to the environment if the change does not happen
Summary
The environmental damage linked with the excessive use of single-use plastic in the packaging industry has created the need for the development of bioplastics that decompose rapidly into water, carbon dioxide and biomass [1,2].The increase of consumer awareness of sustainability and pollution problems associated with high volumes of single-use plastic [3,4] in the packaging industry has led to a significant development of alternative plastics with higher biodegradability properties in the last decade [5]. Uptake of alternative materials by the packaging industry has been slow and it still uses and discards a great volume of single-use plastics with significant negative impact for both marine and terrestrial environments [2,6]. There are indications of large-scale and persistent marine contamination by these micro-plastic materials, with the impact of plasticizer leaching yet unknown [9]. Many of these polymeric materials have no obvious degradation pathway, so at the micro-/and macro- level, these plastic materials present significant risks. All these impacts compound the detrimental aesthetic effects of plastic detritus in our oceans and our beaches [7]
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