The Success of Water Refill Stations Reducing Single-Use Plastic Bottle Litter

Kathryn Willis, Britta Denise Hardesty, Joanna Vince and Chris Wilcox
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Kathryn Willis: School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart Tasmania 7000, Australia
Britta Denise Hardesty: CSIRO, Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart Tasmania 7000, Australia
Joanna Vince: School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart Tasmania 7000, Australia
Chris Wilcox: CSIRO, Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart Tasmania 7000, Australia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 19, 1-17

Abstract: Bottled water is one sector of the beverage industry that has recently experienced substantial growth. The littering of plastic water bottles and the carbon emissions produced from bottled water production results in harmful effects on the environment. To reduce the harm of bottled water production and litter, government and non-government organisations have implemented litter abatement and behavioural change strategies targeting bottled water consumption and subsequent loss of bottles to the environment. Our study evaluated the success of one of these strategies, which is a filtered water refill station, implemented along the Brisbane River in Queensland, Australia. We found plastic bottle litter decreased after a water refill station was put into operation. However, given the location of the refill station, we suggest the behavioural change strategy employed did not reach its full potential. We highlight factors that could be employed to achieve maximum benefits when implementing similar behavioural change strategies.

Keywords: river; behavioural change; plastic bottle; litter; water refill station; waste minimisation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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