Only one-third of Americans claim to do their part when it comes to recycling, according to new research.聽A poll of 2,000 Americans revealed that beyond the 34% who take recycling very seriously, others admit they try to recycle when they are able (29%) or don鈥檛 recycle as much as they should (9%).聽The biggest factors that deter people from recycling were found to be concerns about under-regulation and contaminants (20%) and a lack of faith that the materials are actually being recycled (16%).
Another 29% are unaware of the recycling initiatives and laws in their city or state, and of those who are aware, nearly one in four (24%) admit they still don鈥檛 fully understand them.聽When asked to outline other reservations, respondents said 鈥淚 don’t know what the initiatives might be鈥� or because 鈥淸their] city does not participate in recycling.鈥澛燨n top of that, 51% of respondents are unaware of the initiatives companies and businesses are working on when it comes to PCR plastic. In fact, the survey showed 66% don鈥檛 know what 鈥淧CR鈥� plastic means.
It is evident that there is more education to be had with Americans鈥� understanding of their role in recycling initiatives, as after learning that PCR plastic produced from post-consumer recycled resin and used to create new packaging to reduce impact on landfill waste, 56% noted purchasing PCR plastic products to be important to them.聽Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of CG Roxane, results found that almost four in five (79%) respondents admitted they鈥檝e committed a 鈥渞ecycling sin鈥� over the past year.聽Those included not verifying what materials their products are made from (30%) or placing recyclable items in a trash bag before putting them in a bin (27%).
