The effect of charges, discounts, environmental information, and motivations on consumer preferences for reusable cups: A choice experiment

Single-use disposable cups are a major contributor to plastic waste due to their widespread use and limited recyclability. In response, policymakers are introducing measures to reduce their consumption and promote reusable alternatives. This study employs a discrete choice experiment with a nationally representative sample to evaluate how regulatory incentives (charges, discounts), persuasive strategies (environmental information prompts), and motivational drivers (perceived threat severity and vulnerability, maladaptive response rewards, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response costs) influence consumer preferences for single-use, refillable, and returnable cups. We find that a mandatory charge of 25–30 pence is required to reduce disposable cup selection by 50 %, whereas achieving a similar reduction through discounts requires incentives of at least 70 pence. Environmental information prompts had limited effect, slightly increasing preference for returnable cups when offered alone, but not when both reusable options were present. Consumers who were more likely to choose reusable options perceived greater environmental threat, believed their actions to be effective, and felt more capable of acting, supporting Protection Motivation Theory as a valuable framework for understanding behavioural drivers in circular consumption. Policy wise, charges are more efficient than discounts for shifting choices. To increase uptake of reusable cups pair a moderate charge with returnable and refillable options, keep deposits modest, and prioritise practical features that make reuse easy (e.g., simple return points, washing provision) over information alone.