This makes sense – consumers could be forgiven for thinking they have bigger fish to fry. But when prompted to think about plastic waste specifically, how did they feel about it?

Using Brandwatch Qriously, we asked 7,212 respondents from the UK, France, Spain, Germany, the US, Mexico, Singapore, and Australia how worried they were about plastic waste.

A score of 1 suggests they aren’t at all worried, while a 5 classed them as ‘Very worried.’

Of the countries we studied, consumers in France and Spain are the most worried about plastic waste. Meanwhile, those in the US appeared to be the least worried.

Comparing our US data to last year’s survey, we found that consumers in the country are now even less worried than in 2019. Last year, 49% of US respondents said they were ‘Worried’ or ‘Very worried’ about plastic waste. In 2020, that number is 44%.

An Economist editorial in June quoted data that suggested “consumption of single-use plastic may have grown by 250-300% in America since the coronavirus took hold.” So while single-use plastic is on the up, worry about its impact is, concerningly, headed downwards.

Who’s responsible for improving the impact?

Plastic waste is a global issue. With this in mind, the burden of responsibility for ‘fixing’ the problem is a difficult one to place.

We wanted to know who consumers think is most responsible for improving the impact of plastic waste. Again, each country had a unique response.

For example, in France and the UK, brands are considered the most responsible for improving things. In Spain, it’s the government. Everywhere else we studied, consumers were the most popular option.

We were able to compare the 2020 UK and US data to last year’s survey, so we can see the changes in how consumers feel about responsibility.

In 2020 in the UK, consumers are less likely to think governments and NGOs are responsible for alleviating the problem than they were in 2019, and are more likely to choose consumers and brands.

It’s a similar story in the US.

Respondents in America held consumers most responsible, followed by brands (which have now moved ahead of the government into second place).

If this trend continues, brands will be held more and more accountable for taking action – perhaps a tough pill to swallow when Covid-19 has meant single-use plastic is thriving.

The pandemic will continue to affect every aspect of our lives, meaning plastic waste may not be top of the consumer priority list for a while. That said, our report shows that there are still plenty of people who care about the issue and their responsibility to the environment. The movement towards less plastic waste is not dead.

Get more in-depth data

This data is just the tip of the iceberg. You can find out more about what consumers think about particular products, industries, and Covid-19 plastic waste itself in our report here.

Need insights? Book a demo with an expert here.

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