UK consumers are willing to pay more for water in biodegradable plastic bottles, but it’s not enough to cover the additional cost of manufacturing, finds new research from Corvinus University of Budapest.

Professor Matthew Gorton from Corvinus University and the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise, and colleagues, investigated how the type of packaging (biodegradable plastic or non-biodegradable PET), a charitable donation being made alongside purchase, origin (local or foreign), and price impact on UK consumers’ willingness to pay for bottled water. They also investigated the influence of consumers’ levels of nature relatedness and green consumption values on purchase.

They found UK consumers are willing to pay more for water in biodegradable plastic bottles, compared to non-biodegradable PET - up to 49p extra.

“While consumers are willing to pay more for biodegradable packaging, at present the costs of biodegradable plastic packaging are similar to, or greater than, the average willingness to pay identified in the study,” says Professor Gorton.

“It is difficult for manufacturers to pass on the full additional cost of biodegradable plastics to consumers when switching from PET containers,” adds fellow researcher and associate professor Áron Török from Corvinus University.

As price was also found to be the most important aspect consumers consider when deciding whether to make a purchase or not, the expansion of biodegradable plastic hinges on cost-reducing innovations.

As consumers’ level of nature relatedness increases, indicating a connection with nature, biodegradable packaging becomes more preferable than non-biodegradable. However, higher levels of green consumption values, related to environmental concern when buying, are associated with opting out of purchasing bottled water altogether.

While consumers tend to prefer local products and will pay extra for them, the origin of water had a relatively modest effect on willingness to pay in this study. Therefore, companies must do more than just emphasise the localness of their product.

Consumers were also more willing to pay for bottled water if a charitable donation was being made with their purchase.

These findings were first published in the Journal of Environmental Management.