Research and Insight: Australian Consumer Recycling of Plastics

This research proposal investigates Australian consumers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning the recycling of single-use plastics. The study aims to understand consumer perceptions and habits related to recycling, focusing on the environmental impact of plastic waste and the need for sustainable practices. The research outlines the business and project objectives, research questions, and methodology, including a descriptive research design using primary data collection through surveys. The proposal details the sampling method, reliability and validity tests, and ethical considerations. Expected outcomes include insights into consumer awareness, recycling frequency, and potential strategies to promote more sustainable consumer behavior. The study anticipates that awareness and the frequency of recycling might be low among the consumers, and a significant portion of the population may have knowledge but are unwilling to contribute to the protection of the environment. The research will provide valuable insights for businesses seeking to develop sustainable plastic products and improve their market share.

Running head: RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
Research and insight
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
Topic: Investigating the knowledge of the Australian consumers regarding recycling of single
use plastic items
1.0 Background
Plastic has become the integral part of the modern lifestyle in Australia due to its
lightweight, effectiveness and cheap prices in packaging. However, it has significant harmful
impact on the surrounding environment (Bartolotta and Hardy 2018). The amount of waste going
for landfilling has been growing at an unsustainable rates which is an indication of the increased
environmental population and change in the purchasing behaviour of the consumers (Xanthos
and Walker 2017). Even though effective recycling efforts have been taken by different
organisations controlling the use of single use plastics have been a problem for the Australian
government. Therefore, it makes it even more necessary to understand the impact of using single
user plastics and reducing the reliance to develop sustainable measures for protecting the
environment (Khan et al. 2019). Poor disposal of waste is a problem for the country which has
significant harm on the surrounding environment.
According to Xanthos and Walker (2017), recycling for products is pointless in the
current situation as it end in landfilling. Therefore, the sustainable way is to reduce the use of
single-use plastics in respect to the reusable ones available in the market. This is a global
challenge for the country after China has taken the initiative to ban single use plastics
(methodrecycling 2019). Even though technological solution have been developed which
includes biodegradable plastics but they are not sufficient to deal with the problem which
indicates the change in perception of consumers is necessary to successfully dealing with the
problem (Bartolotta and Hardy 2018). Therefore, awareness and education among the people is
one of the most effective way of changing the behaviour of the consumers especially in the use
of single use of plastics. Australia uses almost 7 billion plastic bags of which half of them are
plastic shopping bags. Moreover, Australians drop more than 36,000 tons of plastic bags for
landfilling in a year which equates to 4,000 bags per minute (oceancrusaders 2020). Furthermore,
only 10% of the Australian consumers recycle their plastic bags which costs the government
more than $4 million to clean up the litter (oceancrusaders 2020). It implies that less than 1% of
the plastic bags are reused in Australia which is a significant problem for the country
(oceancrusaders 2020).

2RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
2.0 Business and Project Objectives
In light of the above context, the purpose of the study is to identify the purchase
behaviour of the consumers in respect to single usage plastics. The purpose of the business is to
develop sustainable plastics to reduce the consumption of single use non-recyclable plastics. The
company wishes to contribute to the society by reducing the use of single use plastic and increase
their market share in the industry of bio degradable plastic products by 5%. In order to do so, the
project aims to understand the knowledge of the Australian regarding the use of single use
plastics and their recycling habits to understand their perception and behaviour so the company
can develop strategy to improve the sales of their products.
3.0 Research Objectives
Therefore, based on the objective of the project the following objectives have been
developed:
 To examine the perception and attitude of Australians about recycling of products
 To investigate the awareness of the consumers regarding the single plastic recycling
 To evaluate the frequency of recycling among the consumers
Research Questions
What do Australian's know about how to recycle these items?
What items are they recycling and how frequently?
4.0 Research Method
Research methodology is the process of highlighting the key tools, techniques and
frameworks necessary for gathering data and examining it based on the research objective. This
study will use a single research design where a primary data collection method will be used to
collect data (Kumar 2019). On the other hand, the study will use the Saunders research
methodology as the method for developing the research design. Saunders research design is used
to describe the methods and tools used in every stage of data collection and analysis along with
the advantages and disadvantages of using of each method (Saunders et al. 2015). This study
mainly focuses on performing a market survey to address a business problem which implies that

3RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
the current study is an applied research. The results from the study can be used by the managers
within the organisation for achieving their project goals.
In terms of research philosophy, the study uses positivism as the philosophical position as
it helps in using a scientific and naturalistic approach which helps in collecting data based on
facts and observations (Saunders et al. 2015). Positivism helps in keeping highest level of
objectivity where the respondents are considered objectively. It implies that positivism facilitates
in quantifying the data collected and helps in performing statistical analysis. Therefore, extreme
positivist view helps in deriving models and predicting future causations in data (Ryan 2018).
However, in this study positivism has been chosen to ensure description of phenomenon using
quantifiable data. As the study has chosen positivism as the philosophical approach, the research
will use deductive approach as it will help in deducting the results logically from the
observations and facts (Saunders et al. 2015). The research approach consists of two parts logical
reasoning and data collection. In this study, logical reasoning will be used to deduce the results
based on the given objective.
Research design is the process where either qualitative or quantitative method is chosen.
It can also be defined as the method of developing a plan for gathering information and
evaluating the results. There are three research designs and they are exploratory, explanatory and
descriptive research design (Edmonds and Kennedy 2016). However, the current study has
chosen the descriptive research design as it facilitates in describing a phenomenon where the
characteristics of the observations will be described in detail. Descriptive design does not aim to
measure any relationship or association between the variables (Leavy 2017). It only focuses on
describing the problem in detail by identifying the behaviour and characteristics of the research
respondents.
The study will collect data using primary data collection method where a survey
questionnaire will be used as a research instrument. The survey instrument will consist of both
close ended and open ended questions which will facilitate in collecting both qualitative and
quantitative (Palinkas et al. 2015). The survey will consist of 10 questions which will be
developed on the four scales of measurement. These four measurement scales includes nominal,
ordinal, ratio and interval scale. The questionnaire will consist of demographic questions which
will determine the demographic feature of the respondents whereas the other questions will

4RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
include questions on consumer perception, attitude and their awareness. The study will use
survey monkey as the tool for performing online survey in the research.
In terms of data analysis, the collected data will be put into Excel sheet where the
frequency tables and charts will be developed using a pivot table. The frequency charts and
tables will be interpreted and described to evaluate the perception, attitude and awareness of the
respondents. On the other hand, in terms of the qualitative data, the research will identify the
pattern within the data collected to link with theories and identify the common themes among
them (Sutton and Austin 2015). It will help developing codes and interpret the results based on
the description provided by the respondents.
Sampling is the process of choosing sample population when the population size is huge.
In this study, sampling is necessary as the target population is the total population in Australia.
However, it is not possible to conduct survey with all the individuals living in Australia,
therefore a subset of respondents will be chosen for the survey (Etikan, Alkassim and Abubakar
2016). Sampling can be divided into probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling methods where
difference between the two can be determined by the fact that the later does not use
randomisation to choose respondents. Probabilistic sampling can be divided into cluster random
sampling, simple random sampling, stratified random sampling and systematic random sampling
(Rahi 2017). On the other hand, non-probabilistic sampling can be divided into convenience
sampling, purposive sampling, haphazard sampling and snowball sampling. Generally,
probabilistic sampling is used to choose a larger sample population where as non-probabilistic
sampling is used for choosing smaller subsets (Etikan, Alkassim and Abubakar 2016). In this
study, the number of respondents will be restricted to 30 and so non- probabilistic sampling is
appropriate. The study will use convenience sampling method to gather data from friends, family
and acquaintances.
The next section is performing the reliability and validity tests in the research. Initially,
reliability is the process of evaluating the reproducibility and repeatability of the results from the
methods chosen in the research. It implies that precision of the research design will be evaluated
using reliability (Kooiman et al. 2015). The reliability of the instruments will be identified using
test rated reliability where the questionnaire will be used to collect data from two different
respondents subsets to check whether the results are similar or not. In order to check the

5RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
reliability of the data gathered, the research will use Cronbach’s alpha test to measure the
internal consistency and the scale reliability of the data gathered. However, in this study, the
alpha test will be applicable only to the scale questions and not the other questions. Validity
measures the appropriateness of the instruments and design in the research. It evaluates the
accuracy of the methods and the data gathered in the research (Mohajan 2017). A data set and
method can be reliable but without validity to the study it has no meaning or significance. In this
study, pilot study will be used to examine the questionnaire by distributing it to 10 respondents
who will provide feedback regarding the tone and appropriateness of the questionnaire. On the
other hand, validity of the data collected will be evaluated using Bartlett test of sphericity and
Kaiser Meyer Olkins Test of sampling adequacy.
In terms of ethical aspect in the research, the study will adhere to the rules and regulation
prescribed by the university. The privacy and anonymity of the respondents will be protected to
keep the confidentiality of the data (Cacciattolo 2015). Consent form will be developed where
the form will include information on the aim, objective and purpose of the study. It will help in
keeping the highest level of objectivity. It will also help in taking consent from the participants.
These participants will not be forced to take part in the research and they will voluntary
participation and they will not be provided any vouchers or benefits for performing the research
(Miller, Goyal and Wice 2015). Moreover, the questionnaire will avoid use of any
discriminatory language or abusive content which may offend or hurt any of the respondents.
The respondents are allowed to leave the survey at any point of time so the research will try to
keep the response rate of 90%.
5.0 Expected Outcome
The study is expected to identify the perception and attitude of Australians about
recycling of products. It will also perception and attitude of Australians about recycling of
products along with identifying the frequency of recycling among the consumers. The awareness
and perception is expected to be negative as the present statistical data has shown that only 1%
of the total plastic bags are recycled in Australia. Furthermore, only 10% of the Australian
consumers recycle their plastic bags which costs the government more than $4 million to clean
up the litter. It is also expected that the frequency of recycling will be low among the consumers
and majority of the consumers may have knowledge regarding recycling but they are unwilling

6RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
to do so. Moreover, it is also expected that there are consumers that are totally ignorant about the
situation and are not willing to contribute to the protection of the environment. The project will
understand the knowledge of the Australian regarding the use of single use plastics and their
recycling habits to understand their perception and behaviour so the company can develop
strategy to improve the sales of their products.

7RESEARCH AND INSIGHT
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