AICC Keynote (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
trash is contaminating waterways, up from 77 percent in 2020. Half of those surveyed say they have made choices to reduce their purchases of single-use plastics. “That’s kind of good right? Less plastic, more card- board?” Enkema said. A resounding 95 percent of Americans believe recy- cling helps the environment, and 85 percent agree that recycling is the bare minimum we can do for the environ- ment. “This is all good, right?” Enkema asked. Plus, 76 per- cent of Americans say that recycling makes them feel bet- ter about the things they purchase or consume. “So that’s really good news. For Americans it’s almost a get out of jail free card. Like, ‘I don’t know how to fix all this other stuff, I don’t even know what’s true, but at least I can recycle,’” Enkema said. There is a problem, though. Enkema said that 30 per- cent of consumers are not confident that what they put in the recycling bin is actually recycled and it’s not getting
any better. In 2020, that number was 23 percent and in 2019 it was 14 percent. It’s a bit of a cautionary tale, Enkema said. While the overall recycling message is positive, the recycling system is at best inconsistent. An estimated 45 percent have a more positive opinion of brands that limit their use of plastics in their packaging. “But again, while paper is viewed as the most eco-friendly packaging material, cardboard is near the bottom of the list of what consumers say they recycle regularly. So how do we help them do that? How do we message? Because it is recyclable, but they don’t realize that,” Enkema said. “The reason why they doubt you is they believe it is go- ing to degrade in quality over time. I think that’s something that you guys should be thinking about from a messaging standpoint.” The Shelton Group tested 14 different packaging ben- efits to see which one is most important to consumers. A package that is recyclable topped the list over packages made from recycled materials, biodegradable packages, a package designed to help the product stay fresh longer, a
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May 8, 2023
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