Centre for the Advancement of Social Sciences Research was commissioned by the Civic Exchange to conduct a telephone survey regarding the bottled water consumption and attitudes towards plastic waste of the public. The telephone survey of 1013 Hong Kong citizens aged 18 or above was conducted in August 2014. The survey results showed that over half of respondents usually drink some bottled water and 16% are heavy consumers. “Convenience” is the main consideration in drinking water choice. Meanwhile, 65.2% of respondents said that they recycled empty plastic bottles. Those who were more concerned about plastic waste were more likely to recycle. 45.5% respondents were dissatisfied with the arrangements for plastic bottle collection in Hong Kong. The result also indicated that the environmental attitudes have no significant effect on consumption of bottled water which over 80 per cent of respondents (84.7%) agreed that plastic waste is a serious problem. They were not noticeably more likely to avoid bottled water than those who placed less importance on the problem. Among bottled water drinkers, frequency of purchase fell only slightly as concern about plastic waste increased.
(April 28, 2015)