The U.S. generates more plastic waste than anywhere else in the world, affecting American rivers, coastlines, landscapes, and communities. But do Americans recognize the severity of the plastic pollution crisis? What actions will they take or support to help fix it? To find out, WWF conducted a survey of more than 1,000 Americans, representative of the U.S. general population.
Here are a few key takeaways:
- The majority of Americans (85%) think that plastic waste pollution is a serious and concerning problem that requires immediate political action to solve.
- Most Americans would support legislative action that enforces corporate accountability on plastic pollution
- A majority of people would be in favor of laws that: incentivize companies to reduce plastic waste (87%); make companies responsible for the plastic waste they create (84%); penalize companies for creating waste (78%).
- Over two-thirds of Americans support either banning (71%) or placing a fee (70%) on single-use plastics.
- When asked “would you be more likely to undertake any of the following actions if there was more assurance it was beneficial to the environment” respondents said:
- 94% said they were “somewhat to much more likely” to recycle plastics
- 91% said they were “somewhat to much more likely” to limit how much single-use plastic they use
- 92% said they were “somewhat to much more likely” to choose products that are made from recycled plastics
- 91% said they were “somewhat to much more likely” to make use of reusable and/or refillable products in place of single-use plastic items