An estimated 7.7 billion single-use plastic water bottles are bought in the UK every year, creating over 100,000 tonnes of plastic waste. Research has found that while a 20p surcharge on single-use plastic bottles increases the use of reusable bottles in university and office campuses, a 20p discount for customers supplying their own reusable bottles has almost no impact on consumer habits.
A 20p surcharge on single-use bottles boosts reusable bottle usage by 4.1%. Educational messaging near vending machines (e.g., posters showing marine plastic pollution) increases the use of reusable bottles by 1.9%. The installation of visible high-speed water refill stations leads to an increase of 3.2%, whereas distributing free branded reusable bottles leads to a further increase of 5.5%.
"While individual physical or financial nudges had limited impacts on their own, a combined strategy of charges, free distribution, and infrastructure yielded the most profound decline in single-use plastic purchases," said Dr. Sarah Lin of the Green Behaviour Initiative.
With reference to Extract C, explain how incentives to use reusable water bottles may lead to a fall in demand for single-use plastic water bottles.
