Consumer Preferences for Eco-Friendly Attributes in Disposable Dinnerware

Details

• Creators:
  Gill, MacKenzie B ; Jensen, Kimberly L ; Lambert, Dayton M ; Upendram, Sreedhar ; English, Burton C ; Labbé, Nicole ; Jackson, Samuel W ; Menard, Robert J
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment ; University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Office of Environment and Energy
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Biobased, ASCENT Biodegradability Certified Consumer Preferences Disposable Consumers Dinnerware Environmental Impacts Recyclable
• Publication/ Report Number:
  j.resconrec.2020.104965
• Resource Type:
  Journal Article
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Journal Article
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and Environment ; University of Tennessee, Knoxville ; Elsevier
• Abstract:
  The United States (US) uses landfills to dispose paper cups at a rate of 40 percent. Landfill rates on plastic disposable dinnerware are even higher at around 80 percent. This study examines consumer preferences for single-use disposable dinnerware with the attributes: uses no trees; contains no plastic; made from agricultural crop byproduct cellulose; cellulose from dedicated crops, and/or organically sourced cellulose; certified biobased; and compostable or recyclable. A Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model is used to estimate the effects of demographics, expenditures, and consumer perceptions of disposable dinnerware made with ‘eco-friendly’ materials or processes. The attributes ‘no plastic’ and ‘recyclable’ appealed to consumers over the widest range of preferences for eco-friendly attributes in disposable dinnerware. However, ‘no trees’ and ‘certified biobased’ appeared to appeal to a narrower segment with the strongest preferences for eco-friendly attributes. Demographic characteristics including gender, residential location, household income, household composition, and environmental attitudes also correlated with preferences for single use products made with the attributes examined.
• Content Notes:
  This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  13-C-AFJE-UTENN-05
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:614db71ee5bc7865d94c14797a74619c76415ed40414f4b8bef7014fc6dabd4824904ad275a00809b83d44ef38b36e1ee9e2260004a0bd263b91870852f2a2d5
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/49872/dot_49872_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 927.87 KB ]