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Circular Voice 2023

Call from consumers: it should be forbidden to sell non-recyclable products

A large share of consumers think that it should be forbidden to make and sell non-recyclable products. Many believe that the business community has the most important role to play in driving circularity forward, followed by consumers themselves, politicians and authorities, and the research community.

These are some findings in Stena Recycling’s second annual consumer survey Circular Voice, revealing consumers’ views on circular products and materials. A little over 5,000 respondents in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Poland were asked a number of questions regarding sustainability, recycling, and their consumer habits, resulting in a report that was launched in conjunction with Circular Initiative 2023 on November 14th.

The call for a non-circular ban remains strong

According to the survey, consumers continue to feel strongly about circularity. In total, 68 percent believe a product’s recyclability is important or very important, and a large share answered “Yes” to the question “Should the manufacture and sale of products that cannot be recycled be prohibited?”.

This is a significant increase compared to last year’s result, when 40 percent of the surveyed 5,000 consumers responded that they think non-recyclable products should be banned from production and store shelves.

The largest shares of consumers calling for a ban on non-recyclable products can be found in Poland (59 percent) and Norway (57 percent), and the lowest in Denmark (44 percent) and Finland (45 percent).

Voices from Circular Initiative 2023

Louise Eriksson

Principal Consultant at Stena Circular Consulting

Ulrika Molander

COO of GreenIron

Sara Davidsson

Sustainability & Compliance Director at Stena Recycling

Danish consumers outliers when it comes to responsibility

Although the large difference of 15 percentage points between Poland and Denmark is difficult to explain without further study, part of the explanation could lie in who consumers see as the key player for driving circularity forward.

Denmark is an outlier in this respect, with the largest share of respondents – 30 percent – placing the responsibility for promoting the increased use of recycled materials in various products on themselves as consumers. Perhaps Danes don’t necessarily view legislation as the only solution; if the demand for strictly circular products is strong enough, the suppliers will have no choice but to comply.

Business viewed as the most crucial circularity promotor

Overall, the largest share of survey respondents – 35 percent – view the business community as the key player in promoting increased use of recycled materials in various products. The countries where this is the prevailing view are Finland and Poland, with a whopping 50 percent of Finnish consumers placing the responsibility on businesses.

In contrast, the largest share of Swedish and Norwegian respondents put their trust in politicians and authorities, with 30 and 29 percent respectively saying that it’s up to elected officials to promote the increased use of recycled material.

Navigating responsibility

"It’s interesting to see such major differences between the countries in which you place the greatest responsibility. Everyone in the chain – from design and production to consumption and recycling – is an important piece of the puzzle in achieving a circular economy in general. Although every individual needs to take responsibility, what is required above all are initiatives by decision-makers and the business community to help consumers live a more circular life."

Anna Sundell, Head of Sustainability & Communications at Stena Metall Sweden.

Key figures from Circular Voice on this topic

55%

believe that it should be forbidden to make and sell products that cannot be recycled

59%

of Polish respondents would like to see a ban on non-recyclable products

55%

view business as the key player in driving circularity forward

30%

of Danish respondents view consumers as the most crucial circularity promotor

Last updated: 2023-12-13

https://www.stenarecycling.com/news-insights/insights-inspiration/guides-articles/stop-selling-products-that-cannot-be-recycled/

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