Barriers to the continued usage of alternatives for single-use plastics by students in student housing

Following the ban on multiple single-use plastics approved by the European Parliament in 2019, effective alternatives will be necessary by 2021. Unfortunately, already existing alternatives are not always used in a sustainable manner. This study is a first attempt to seek answers to the following questions: (i) What thresholds prevent the (continued) usage of alternatives for single-use plastics? (ii) How do different types of ecological users perceive these thresholds, and (iii) what are the differences between these groups? (iv) What is the relation between the perceived level of behaviour change and the type of sustainable intervention in the lifecycle of these products? Several existing alternatives were discussed during three focus group sessions (n=5). Part of these products were selected from the Ubuntoo platform, which collects the newest innovative solutions against plastic pollution. This way, both common (e.g. reusable drinking bottles) and less common (e.g. refillable coffee pads) products were investigated. Participants were clustered according to their ecological lifestyle and use of reusable products into three explorative focus groups: Eco 1 (least ecological), Eco 2, and Eco 3 (most ecological). The target group consisted of Belgian students who live in student accommodations. The key result of the study indicated that the main thresholds are caused by a change of environment, the cost of the product, personal preference and the practical aspect of the use of the alternative compared to its single-use item, although it is important to note that these results are preliminary. These thresholds could be further examined in the future by testing real-life solutions in the long term, with different target groups.