Survey findings!

We recently conducted a survey of 64 people, a mix of males and females of all ages, asking them about their recycling practices at home, their bag use when shopping, and some thoughts on a plastic bag ban or levy. Here are some of the findings...



The above chart shows that in general, people tend to use different recycling methods more often than not, with 84% indicating that they recycle bottles/containers, 78% for paper and 41% who compost their food scraps.


The second chart shows some findings more relevant to The Ninety Percent Project. Firstly, although 7 out of 10 people (70%) use lightweight plastic bags when shopping, almost the same amount (65%) use greenbags. This high figure for lightweight plastic bag use may be more of a reflection of the supermarkets than the consumers, such that supermarkets are continuing to offer free plastic bags as an option for people. The high level of green bag use indicates that these are becoming more of the norm in everyday shopping practices.
Durable plastic bags (41%) and paper bags (13%) were also used, albeit to a lesser extent. A number of people also indicated they they use other types of bags when shopping. These included calico bags, nylon bags, trolleys, and own bags from home (e.g. backpack).
When comparing results for each person, there were some other interesting findings-

• Those people who use green bags are more likely to recycle paper and bottles/containers, compost food scraps and support a plastic bag ban in NSW, and are less likely to use lightweight PBs than those who do not use green bags. In other words, there seems to be a run through effect such that those who engage in environmentally-friendly practices when shopping, do so at home, and are more 'green' in their attitudes.
  
• Conversely, those who use lightweight plastic bags are less likely to recycle paper and compost food scraps than those who don't use lightweight plastic bags, indicating that with a willingness to relinquish the plastic bag there is also more positive behaviour concerning environmental practices at home.
  

This last chart looks at how much people would be willing to pay for plastic bags. The fact that almost 4 out of 5 people (78%) indicated that they would be willing to pay more than the minimum price bracket, so over 10c per bag, indicates that this levy would be readily accepted. It would not be grudgingly paid for as an extra charge, rather people clearly see the importance of having such a levy in place in order to change people's behaviour and attitudes.
Some other interesting findings concerning this question-

• There is a tendency for those who recycle paper to be willing to pay more for plastic bags than those who do not recycle paper. Of those people who don't recycle paper, 93% are willing to pay up to 25c per bag, and only 7% more than this. In contrast, out of those who do recycle paper, 55% are willing to pay up to 25% per bag, and 45% are prepared to pay more than this.
• There is a tendency for those who recycle bottles/containers to be willing to pay more for plastic bags than those who do not recycle bottles/containers. Those who do not recycle bottles/containers are only prepared to pay up to 25c per plastic bag, while out of those do recycle bottles/containers 57% will pay up to 25c per bag, and 43% are willing to pay more than this.
• There is a tendency for those who compost food scraps to be willing to pay more for plastic bags than those who do not compost food scraps. Almost 4 out of 5 people (78%) who do not compost, were only prepared to pay up to 25c per bag, with 22% indicating they would pay more than this. In contrast, 2 out of 5 people (42%) who do compost, are prepared to pay up to 25c per bag, with the majority (58%) being willing to pay more than this.
  
• It is interesting to note, that out of those who don't engage in the above recycling and composting practices, the majority were still prepared to pay between 10c and 25c per plastic bag, with 57%, 67% and 54% respectively choosing this amount in comparison to 18%, 33% and 24% respectively who chose the 'less than 10c' option.
• There is a tendency for those who do not use lightweight plastic bags to be willing to pay more for plastic bags than those who do use lightweight plastic bags. Almost three quarters of those who use lightweight plastic bags when shopping (73%) said that they would pay up to 25c per bag if made to, with 27% indicating they would pay between 25c and 75c. Out of the non-lightweight plastic bag users, only 42% said they would pay up to 25c per bag, with 59% indicating they would pay more than this.

If you have any thoughts, questions or would like to know more about this survey, post a response or send us an email at theninetypercentproject@gmail.com.