TY  - JOUR
A1  - Theobald, Klara
A1  - Mich, Anne
A1  - Hillesheim, Stefanie
A1  - Hartard, Susanne
A1  - Rohn, Holger
T1  - One year of mandatory reusable packaging in Germany: Opportunities and obstacles from the perspective of consumers and companies
T2  - Sustainability
N2  - Since the beginning of 2023, the so-called reusable packaging obligation has been in place in Germany in order to reduce the amount of waste from takeaway packaging. Catering companies will then be obliged to offer reusable packaging as an alternative to disposable plastic takeaway packaging. As part of the pilot project ‘Mehrweg Modell Stadt’ (‘Reusable city model’), an open infrastructure for reusable cups is in trial in Mainz and Wiesbaden. The project was subjected to a scientific monitoring process, which included the implementation of quantitative surveys among various stakeholders within the value chain, namely consumers, catering companies, and other companies engaged in the project. This was conducted over two time periods: August 2023 to September 2023, and February to March 2024. The results show a discrepancy between consumers’ attitudes and their actual behavior: Despite a high level of sustainability awareness and perceived positive benefits of reusable packaging, perceived barriers stand in the way of actual use. The biggest challenges for companies are the lack of consumer demand, practical handling and hygiene requirements. The results of this quantitative social research provide important insights for the development of targeted measures to promote the use of reusable packaging in takeaway catering and contribute to the discussion on closing the attitude–behavior gap along the entire value chain.
KW  - reusable packaging obligation
KW  - single-use packaging
KW  - waste generation
KW  - sustainability awareness
KW  - consumer survey
KW  - takeaway catering companies
KW  - reusable quota
KW  - takeaway gastronomy
KW  - takeaway
KW  - Gaststättengewerbe
KW  - Catering
KW  - Wertschöpfungskette
KW  - Nachhaltigkeit
KW  - Mehrwegverpackung
KW  - Einwegverpackung
Y1  - 2024
UR  - https://hst.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/993
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:tr5-9933
VL  - 16
IS  - 13
ER  -