Issue 02/2017

Report
By:
Michael Thielen
Bioplastics Survey
In our previous issue, we started a new series “special focus
on certain geographical areas”. Our idea is to conduct
simple surveys in various countries and regions around
the world, in order to gain an idea about the general perception
of bioplastics in these countries.
In this second edition of this new series, we again
visited shopping centers in a number of towns, this time in
Germany and Austria, where we interviewed at random a
(non-representative) number of regular people – average
citizens who were not expected to have any special
knowledge of or connection with bioplastics.
Of course, while Germany and Austria are close
neighbors, they are two completely different countries,
each with its own array of cultural peculiarities. The people
in both countries speak German, albeit with slightly (?)
different accents or dialects. The results of the surveys,
however, were so similar in both countries, that we could
easily include all the results in a single set of graphs.
Of those we interviewed, 46 % were male and 54 % were
female. About 80 % were aged between 20 and 40, while
20 % were between the ages of 40 and 60. This represents
the average distribution of people browsing these particular
shopping centers.
When asked whether they knew what bioplastics were,
a markedly small percentage (18%) responded with yes
(and went on to back this up by correctly defining these
as materials of biobased origin and/or with biodegradable
features). We did find that the people in the city of Cologne,
with its one million inhabitants, were slightly better informed
than those in Mönchengladbach (Germany, population
260,000) and Salzburg (Austria, population 150,000). Overall,
the other 82 % all indicated that they were interested in
hearing more about what bioplastics were.
We briefly explained that conventional plastics were made
from oil, a scarce and non-renewable resource, and that
burning petroleum-based products contributed to the rising
levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. We talked about how
biobased plastics can be made from renewable resources
or waste streams, such as corn, sugar beet, sugar cane
or, e.g., waste starch from the potato industry and pointed
out that biodegradable/compostable plastics (whether
biobased or otherwise) also had significant benefits to offer,
depending on the application.
The majority of our interviewees responded positively to
our explanation, expressing the opinion that bioplastics
were better for the environment, with fewer harmful effects
on the climate. A few saw bioplastics a way for them
personally to actually do something about climate change.
Asked whether they would buy products made of
bioplastics, if they should happen to see them on display
at the store, all confirmed that they would. Yet, echoing the
interviewed Dutch shoppers in the previous edition, here
again “only” 90 % reported that they would be willing to
pay more for such products, with most responding: “a little
more, yes”, or “but not twice as much”…
In sum, consumers who know about or are aware of
bioplastics and their potential are still a minority. Yet,
once informed, and given the opportunity, consumers – at
least those we interviewed- indicate that they would opt for
products using bioplastics and even be willing to pay a small
premium. This indicates an obvious need for comprehensive
end consumer education. Consumer behavior can make
a significant impact on the ways products affect the
environment. Educating consumers about bioplastics offers
a huge opportunity to promote these materials and to effect
positive changes in the shopping choices people make.
female
20-40
years
40-60
years
Do you know what
bioplastics are?
Would you buy?
Would you pay more?
male
YES
18%
NO
86%
YES
100%
NO
0%
YES
90%
NO
10%
54%
57%
53,3%
57%
43%
46%
43%
46,7%
100% 78% 22% 80% 20% 80% 20% 100%
50%
50%
46 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/17] Vol. 12