The Potential of Food Packaging Attributes to Influence Consumers’ Decisions to Sort Waste

TLDR

Food packaging waste can be a valuable resource for material recovery, but consumers often find sorting confusing and inconvenient, so packaging that clearly communicates sorting practices could improve recovery rates. The study aims to investigate how selected packaging attributes influence consumer decisions about waste sorting. Six types of yogurt and cream packaging were examined in 15 households in Karlskrona, a medium‑sized Swedish city, to assess the potential of packaging to support proper sorting. Results show that some packaging was not properly sorted, and that user‑centered design—particularly visual attributes, material selection, and sorting functions—can affect consumer decisions and enhance material recovery.

Abstract

Food packaging waste is a valuable resource for material recovery, if it is properly separated and sorted by consumers. The packaging itself may have the potential to assist consumer sorting by, for example, communicating a correct sorting practice. This is partly due to the fact that the sorting of packaging waste, which is a habitual behavior of consumers, can be perceived as being confusing and inconvenient. Consumers can, therefore, choose not to sort. It is argued that material recovery could be enhanced if packaging can afford easy and proper sorting and separation. To investigate the potential of packaging to support proper sorting, six types of yogurt and cream packaging were examined across 15 households in Karlskrona (a medium-sized Swedish city). The aim is to investigate the effect of selected packaging attributes on consumer decisions regarding waste sorting. The results reveal that some of the selected packaging waste is not properly separated and sorted. It is concluded that the design of food packaging based on user-centered needs could affect consumer decisions for the proper sorting of packaging waste, which enables improved material recovery. The design should focus especially on the package’s visual attributes, the material selection, and the package´s waste sorting related functions.