Objectives
The main objectives of this thesis were to find out how the EU’s plastic packaging waste policies have evolved over time and what the overall situation of plastic packaging recycling is now in Europe. One objective was also to investigate how satisfaction with recycling facilities affects people’s recycling behavior and what factors would motivate them to recycle more of their plastic packaging waste.
Summary
With secondary research, literature about EU policies effects to increase recycling and move towards a circular economy was reviewed. A web survey was then conducted where respondents were asked to answer different questions about plastic packaging recycling. Main themes in the survey were satisfaction with local plastic packaging waste collection and attitudes toward recycling. After these questions, respondents were asked to list reasons, why they do or do not recycle plastic packaging waste and what would motivate them to recycle more. The web survey was shared on social media and different thesis survey groups.
Conclusions
In recent years plastic packaging has been taken into consideration more when updating different EU policies and implementing new strategies for recycling. The EU introduced Plastics Strategy and the amount of plastic packaging recycled has increased over the years.
The survey’s results supported previous findings that satisfaction with local recycling facilities indeed affects people’s recycling behavior. Even though many agreed that recycling plastic packaging waste is important, dissatisfaction with local facilities affects how often they separate plastic packaging from other household waste
