Sustainable Consumption of Households According to the Zero Waste Concept

Małgorzata Bogusz, Renata Matysik-Pejas (), Andrzej Krasnodębski and Paweł Dziekański ()
Additional contact information
Małgorzata Bogusz: Department of Management and Economics of Enterprises, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, A. Mickiewicza 21, 31-120 Krakow, Poland
Renata Matysik-Pejas: Department of Management and Economics of Enterprises, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, A. Mickiewicza 21, 31-120 Krakow, Poland
Andrzej Krasnodębski: Department of Management and Economics of Enterprises, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Krakow, A. Mickiewicza 21, 31-120 Krakow, Poland
Paweł Dziekański: Department of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Uniwersytecka 15 Str., 25-406 Kielce, Poland

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-23

Abstract: The actions, decisions and behavior of consumers in a circular economy are defined as a circular consumption system. The circular economy is an alternative economic model to the linear model of production and consumption. This model is in line with the zero waste concept, which according to the Zero Waste International Alliance, is an ethical, economical, efficient and forward-looking concept in which consumer behavior includes buying products, caring for them and then recycling or reusing them. This is closely linked to adopting and committing to the circular business model of extending and reusing products. The aim of the study was to identify and describe consumer behavior and activities related to the zero waste concept. The analysis was conducted in the context of reusable products. The research was based on the CAWI method. The tool used to obtain the information was a structured questionnaire. The survey included 821 respondents from Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. The survey shows that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the consequences of consumption not based on choices with a positive attitude towards the environment. In addition, consumer sensitivity to environmental problems is growing. Growing consumer awareness and the promotion of healthy lifestyles by environmental organizations and movements are reversing unfavorable trends in favor of conscious consumption based on rational consumer choices, which translates into economic effects for households. The study found that the behavior of many respondents fits into the zero waste concept, implementing habits on a daily basis that are in line with sustainable consumption.

Keywords: zero waste; sustainable consumption; consumer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/18/6516/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/18/6516/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:18:p:6516-:d:1236679

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().