Exploring consumer attitudes toward reusable takeaway packaging: An empirical study in Germany

Abstract

Since the introducing of the new German packaging law 'VerpackG2' in January 2023, food service operators in Germany selling takeout food have been mandated to provide reusable packaging alternatives to single-use plastic food containers. This change in legislation has led to the emergence of various reusable consumer packaging systems in the German market. Reusable packaging systems have the potential to significantly reduce the negative environmental impact of single-use plastic packaging. However, for these systems to succeed and achieve their desired positive environmental impact, a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior toward these systems is needed. This study extends the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework to identify the factors influencing consumers' intentions to use a reusable packaging system for takeaway food in the German food service industry. An online survey was developed, and 153 valid responses were collected from consumers in Germany. Structural equation modeling revealed that in this study, consumers' personal moral norms, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control directly influence consumers' intentions to use the reusable packaging system. The results also show that context, motivation, and personal moral norms are positively related to consumers' attitudes, and context significantly positively affects consumers' perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, the study's results indicate that despite the high frequency of takeaway food orders in Germany, consumers' use of reusable packaging systems for takeaway food still needs to be improved.