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Danish consumers outliers when it comes to responsibility

Although the large difference of 15 percentage points between Poland and Denmark is difficult to explain without further study, part of the explanation could lie in who consumers see as the key player for driving circularity forward.

Denmark is an outlier in this respect, with the largest share of respondents – 30 percent – placing the responsibility for promoting the increased use of recycled materials in various products on themselves as consumers. Perhaps Danes don’t necessarily view legislation as the only solution; if the demand for strictly circular products is strong enough, the suppliers will have no choice but to comply.

Business viewed as the most crucial circularity promotor

Overall, the largest share of survey respondents – 35 percent – view the business community as the key player in promoting increased use of recycled materials in various products. The countries where this is the prevailing view are Finland and Poland, with a whopping 50 percent of Finnish consumers placing the responsibility on businesses.

In contrast, the largest share of Swedish and Norwegian respondents put their trust in politicians and authorities, with 30 and 29 percent respectively saying that it’s up to elected officials to promote the increased use of recycled material.