Abstract
Plastic is ubiquitous in everyday social practices, and few consumer activities do not involve its direct or indirect use. Single-use plastic (SUP) based on fossil fuels is particularly problematic, as it seems virtually unavoidable, especially in everyday products, from plastic wrapping cucumbers to shampoo bottles. Although reducing SUP is crucial, there is little evidence of achieving this in everyday social practices. This paper examines the practicality of reducing SUP and consumer frustration. We studied the social practices of 20 adults using diary records and workshops over the course of two weeks. Our findings suggest that everyday practices shape SUP use, and reducing it disrupts daily life, even for eco-conscious consumers. Packaging-free shops are a popular approach to reducing SUP. However, consumers are hindered from using this alternative by limited availability, convenience and product variety. Future research should explore the seamless integration of alternatives to reduce SUP into everyday social practices.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 107303 |
| Journal | Resources, Conservation and Recycling |
| Volume | 200 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISSN | 0921-3449 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work has been performed in the framework of the Circular Plastic Network for Training (C-Planet project), which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 859885 . We would like to thank all the participants for their commitment to completing this time-consuming experiment. We also thank the three anonymous reviewers at Resources, Conservation and Recycling for their valuable feedback on earlier versions of this article.
Keywords
- Single-use plastic
- Consumption
- Reduce
- Diary study
- Everyday practices
- Plastic avoidance